Author

I’m May Gordoncillo, the main Blog Author for Luscious Mind. Welcome to our crazy luscious world. An interactive repository of knowledge, experiences and sources of inspiration for myself and hopefully for you too.

Sharing my world with others, as an ambivert, is not always easy. But I’ve let the fear go now. I’m gradually allowing mistakes and imperfections to be my friend and not foe.

A Creative maverick on stage

I seldom get accolades for the natural sciences like math or chemistry, but when it comes to the arts and taking center stage, that’s where I shine.

Since a little girl, I’ve always been the artistic performer type. In nursery, at UPLB’s child development center, already I got Best in Arts and Dance as a tiny tot. Then we lived in Australia for five years where I studied in West Melbourne Primary School. Even there my creative artwork was singled out for praise in class. Coming back to the Philippines, I was again put on stage and sashed as Miss Talent and Miss Grade Five. The stage just kept calling from then on.

High School Queen

In high school, I was leading lady for the school plays every year for four years. Then as a junior, I became Miss Intrams.

That same year, I was assigned to be up front and center as the Master of Ceremonies for our Junior-Senior Prom. Lo and behold, I also became Prom Queen and the Talking Dictionary all in the same night.

The stage tugs and tugs. Even when I showed up to my prom, eyes bulging red from crying like a baby because my date was an arse who didn’t pick me up on time when I had an important emcee job to do. My dad was like, “No matter what happens, do not dance with him.” I said, holding back the sobs, “But what if nobody else wants to dance with me?”

Yes, I kinda was/am a teeny tiny bit insecure. But as they say, the show must go on. I slayed my prom emcee role even if I arrived in tears, and even bagged the crown. The following year, I turned my crown over to the next Prom Queen. But the school still made me Dancing Queen that night as a senior. I guess once a queen, always a queen.

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On our high school graduation day, I wasn’t a salutatorian/valedictorian. Although I was called on stage and bestowed a medal for Excellence in Performing Arts.

In the past, I carried all this with shame, feeling like I had no right to claim the social throne. That I wasn’t enough. But I want to change and eliminate my self-deprecating thoughts. If I am ashamed of these things, it’s tantamount to being ashamed of God’s blessings, so I dare not hide it any longer. If God wanted me to be a high school queen, so be it.

College Jock

In college, here we go again. The frat boys organizing the UPLB freshmen party handpicked me from the crowd to be one of the Miss Freshmen candidates. That was the last of my amateur beauty pageant-ish experiences, nothing really major. I wanted to be a successful CEO and/or a serious media personality, and UP was just the place to be.

The stage still beckoned, just differently. I became one of the UPLB Jocks, a group of student radio DJs for LBFM 97.4. As Jocks, we were also very in demand at college parties as emcees, including the annual UP FebFair. As long as there was a microphone that spoke to a crowd, we were there.

Another kind of stage and even more brutal was the tennis court — I was also very active as a Lawn Tennis Varsity Player.

Sassy student leader

The last stage I occupied before graduating with my bachelor’s degree was a political one. Here, my looks didn’t count as much. I don’t know how I got there honestly, but I was somehow lunged into the world of student governance. I was elected the UPLB University Student Council Vice Chairperson.

It may seem that I have everything going for me. To be clear, I don’t. There is a part of my life that is so dark that I have yet to muster the courage to share with you. Perhaps in the future, I’ll be braver and ready. I want to make it my mission to speak to young adults even further, but all in good time. 🙂

Intellectual vixen

Now, when it comes to nurturing one’s mind, I walk the talk. I’m a proud nerd queen just as much as I am a creative sprite heralding all things fashionable and unique.

My mother, who has a PhD in nutrition, taught me that it is not enough to just be pretty. I had to be smart too. Looks fade, but character is what matters most at the end of the day. I’m glad that my mom stood as my shining beacon of beauty, grace and intellect.

I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Development Communication, majoring in journalism, from the University of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños. Then later on I went to UP Diliman for my Master’s Degree in Communication Research. I’m now studying to get my PhD.

I’m not an influencer, I am a leader. Beyond a content creator, I’m an indie lifestyle journalist on this unique platform. Embrace your inner dragon too — own it, claim it.

As fellow well-rounded intellectuals, I invite you to embrace the path of the enlightened creative. To appreciate the science behind art and the art behind science.

I would also like to have deep conversations with you over coffee (or beer? mojito perhaps? hehe) about the countless brutal imperfections/failures that inevitably come with success and winning.

Now that I’ve bared my soul with you, go forth and explore every corner of this blog to feed your luscious mind. Share your light and let it shine too.