Plot Twist of the Year: Top 3, Me?!

From Wanderings to Recognition: My #BCBA2025 Journey 🌿

When I first started chasingpotatoes.com, it was honestly more of an outfit–outfitan blog hahaha — basically me trying to do fashion content. But I really couldn’t maintain that lifestyle; it was too expensive(makapordoy 😭), and I didn’t exactly fit the vibe hahaha! 🥲

HAHAHA MY FIRST EVER BLOG WAHAHAHAHA 😭 OMG IM SHYYYYY!😭 https://chasingpotatoes.com/2014/04/11/la-vie-parisienne/

But even after that phase ended, I kept blogging. Why? Because I didn’t want my photos to go to waste. If I just posted them on Facebook, they would get buried in the feed and eventually be forgotten. So I told myself, “At least if they’re on the blog, I’ll always have something to look back on.” My adventures slowly turned into a memoir — a little corner where I could keep my memories alive.

What started as a space for random thoughts, travel moments, and small discoveries around Cebu (and beyond) eventually grew into something more meaningful. I never imagined that this humble blog would one day be recognized — let alone make it to the Top 3 for Best Cebu Travel Blog at the Best Cebu Blogs Awards 2025. 🥹💚

---

Staying Grounded and Grateful 🌱

These past weeks have felt overwhelming in their own ways, so receiving this finalist recognition came at such a meaningful time. It reminded me to pause, breathe, and appreciate how far this little blog has come. I’m truly grateful for this honor — it’s something I never expected, and it means so much to me.

It also made me reflect on the small moments and memories that shaped this journey — the tiny stories, the quiet adventures, the simple joys that built chasingpotatoes.com into what it is today.

Especially now, with AI content everywhere and so many vloggers dominating the scene, it’s easy to feel small as a blogger. Sometimes I wonder if there’s still space for long reads, quiet photos, and personal reflections in a world that scrolls so fast.

But maybe that’s exactly why I keep doing this — to slow things down a bit and remind myself that simple stories like these still have a place.

---

Finding Magic in Simplicity ✨

Until now, it still feels surreal. I remember the early days: writing late at night after work, editing photos using free apps, and wondering if anyone was even reading my posts. There were so many moments when I felt like giving up because my stories felt too simple… too quiet compared to the rest.

But maybe that’s exactly the magic —
the simplicity,
the small joys,
the unplanned trips,
the quiet local moments that don’t try too hard.

Those were the things that found their place. And knowing that they resonated with someone — even one person — means the world to me. 💚

Writing has never been easy for me. It has never really been my “cup of tea,” more like a slow-brew, take-your-time kind of hobby hahaha 😭🤣. My drafts would take days — sometimes even a whole month — before I had the courage to hit publish. I wasn’t confident enough, and I would literally bother my mother to check my grammar every single time hahaha! 🤣

But I kept going anyway. And looking back now, I’m just grateful — grateful that I didn’t give up, grateful for the few people who quietly read along, and grateful that my simple little stories somehow found their space here.

And of course… I’m also grateful for AI now hahahaha 🤣 — life suddenly became easier. Writing for my blog became 10x faster lol. 🤣🤣🤣

---

Gratitude and Shout-Outs 💫

Huge thanks to the Best Cebu Blogs Awards team, the judges, and all the amazing sponsors who made this event possible — especially our Venue Sponsor and Co-Presenter, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

The Best Cebu Blogs Awards is not possible without the help of the following partners and sponsors:

Venue Sponsor and Co-Presenter 

Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino.

Gold Sponsors: 

Megaworld Corporation, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Cebu Pacific Air, PLDT Home, Home Credit PH, 2GO, MAYA Philippines.

Silver Sponsors: 

Robinsons Supermarket, Grab PH, Mi Philippines

Official Designer: 

TLC Events and Party Needs

Official Photographer: 

Budots Media PH

Blogger Partners: 

Cebu Bloggers Society Incorporated, Memowriter Writing Services

Partners: 

Cebu Fitness Blog, FaceCebu.Net

And to everyone who has been part of this blog’s journey — from friends who supported my random travel ideas, to readers who still find joy in chasing these small stories with me — thank you so much, from the bottom of my potato heart. 🥰

---