Being An Armchair Historian Made Me A Finalist

When I was younger, I wanted to be Indiana Jones. It was my dream to be a world-renowned archaeologist and travel the world. I also wanted to be a professional writer and author.

It seemed like an adventure to be an archeologist, traveling the world, visiting historic palaces, having fiery discussions, and writing about the discoveries and experiences.

For me, being a historian and a writer is the perfect combination. It has always been a passion of mine --- history and writing. Alas, I took a different path career-wise.

When blogging became popular, I saw it as an opportunity to pursue my interests. I'm not a professional nor the best, but what blogging did was to open my world to infinite possibilities. I have to admit, I'm also not consistent when it comes to creating content for my blog and other social media sites, since I also love my corporate career. I try my best to balance both worlds.

So far, 2025 has been a rollercoaster ride of sorts. But when October 1st came and I opened my email, I received a big surprise. I have been nominated as a Finalist for the Best Cebu Personal Blog Category by the Best Cebu Blogs Awards. This is my 6th nomination, with one win in 2021 for the same category.

This BCBA nomination means that blogging is alive and still significant. It will continue to fuel my enthusiasm to blog. Blogging has become part of my identity and brand. I hope that I can also inspire people to take the chance and work on their passion projects.

This year, my resolve is to focus more on history, culture, and books. I am disciplining myself to be consistent in my blog posts about these topics. I actually have tons of ideas, but just need to have a dedicated time to write about them.

Writing about history is a lesson in real life. You do your research, make sure that you cite your references, and if you can interview people, do so. You base your perspective on what you have on hand. You pour your blood, sweat, and tears in ensuring that the information that you provide is factual and correct. And in the course of it all, if you do make a mistake, own up to it and apologize.

I am very thankful to my readers and supporters, my family and friends, for being there all these times. When I started my blog in 2015, I never thought that I would be able to make a difference in my own special way. Gosh, now that I think about it, I'm also celebrating 10 years of blogging life.

I aspire to continue to be both an armchair historian and book collector, and be able to craft more stories and videos to share.

I'm ecstatic to be part of this year's roster for the Best Cebu Blogs Awards and am counting the days until November 27th, when the Awarding Ceremonies will be held at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

BCBA was founded by Mark Monta in December of 2008 and was later joined by fellow organizers Agnes Jimenez, Bjorn Bernales, Gezelle Tapangan, Chanel Marie Imperial, and Jaysee Pingkian.

Best Cebu Blogs Awards is organized and handled by Blogger Volunteers, headed by Cebu Bloggers Society Inc. Founder Mark M. Monta. Judges for the Best Cebu Blogs Awards By Niches are changing every year. Most of them came from Manila, Cagayan De Oro, Iloilo, General Santos, Davao, and of course, a home-based judge here in Cebu.