What does it feel like to be a 25-year-old married woman trapped inside a 14-year-old body?

Yes, that's me. I guess it's safe to say now that I wasn't kidding. But despite that inevitable external growth or the lack-thereof, I am proud to say that I am an old soul. I love old things and old people.

Hello world and steemit! I'm Marchie Galacio-Bonto, born on March 30, 1992. Fondly known as chik/chic, I was born in Iligan City, Lanao Del Norte from the beautiful island of Mindanao.

Being the middle child of three, I honestly grew up having that middle-child mentality. As a child, I was surrounded with adventurous people who greatly influenced me in so many things. My Father is a professional Electronics Engineer while my mother is a Teacher. My sister is now a Registered Nurse based in Abu Dhabi (UAE) while my brother, an HRM graduate, works at 7/11 because he says he's not ready to work in a hotel.

I have childhood friends that I see as family. I was an out-going kid; full of life and energy! And for some unknown reason, I became an introvert overtime. During highschool, I skip lunches, bask in the beautiful silence of the library and hide behind books.

I love books -- even the badly-written ones. When I'm reading, I feel like I'm diving into beautiful thoughts from different walks of life and it places me to new directions. Seeing words come to life in my imagination is a gift that I always want to practice everyday. Thus, I read snippets of books from time to time.

Being an introvert prompted me to choose a career that doesn't involve me talking to a lot of people. Thus, I graduated Computer Science at St. Michael's College and became a programmer for a short time. I could work the whole day in front of the computer without talking to anyone but I realized that it wasn't a good idea. Aside from my dying social life, I had to endure a stuck-up breath. (Not kidding.) So I decided to become a teacher, a total opposite to what I wanted at first. Eventually, my passion to speak has grown and now I mentor different individuals about life.

I'm also a musician. My parents were both amateur musicians and out of their frustration, they enrolled me to piano lessons of which I don't really have any interest. Eventually, I became good at it and shifted to other instruments such as guitar, ukulele and drums (my favorite!). Somehow, I realized that my musicality really runs in the family. Now, I serve in a local church as an all-around musician.

I got married just last year, December 19, 2017, on my husband's birthday. His name is Ulrich and he got his name from Metallica's drummer, Lars Ulrich. Funny thing is, he's not a musician. Not even close. But God definitely answered my prayers when I found out he's a great cook. Also, he serves as a kids teacher in church. He loves to serve kids, even the poor ones in our neighborhood. They call him, the "master".

Everything that I have at this moment-- my family, marriage, church community, work and even this (steemit!) is actually birthed in prayer. If I am to sum up my life, it's actually more than a roller coaster ride that almost always ends up with an adrenaline rush and breath of relief. I have God to thank for, of course! He has sustained me with supernatural grace and boldness.

No matter how cruel the world becomes, You must never let go of your kindness.

Also, eat ice cream. It solves everything. wink

At this point, I just would like to thank my dear friend for inviting me here on steemit.
@speaklife You're such a blessing to me and everyone else! Continue to speak life!

To #steemitachievers, a big thank you!