5 questions with blogger and author Monique @www.lifebeginsattwenty.com

Hi, everybody! I’m Monique, a 20-year-old college student and blogger based in the Philippines. I spread motivation and advice to young adults my age and all about my life in my twenties. Also, I talk about my struggles and experiences as an aspiring writer who just finished writing my very first novel last October. All of this and more, you can enjoy in my blog called www.lifebeginsattwenty.com. I’d appreciate it if you spare a few minutes of your time to visit it and read one or two articles. Comments and shares are greatly appreciated and reciprocated, of course.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live and why?

Honestly, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else except the Philippines. Without a doubt, my country isn't the best in the world and there's a lot of things that we need to work on as a nation, but I don't see myself dying in another place (didn't mean to sound morbid there lol). I'd love to visit different countries as much as I can, of course! But, always the Philippines.

Which do you value more; honesty or kindness?

I value both --- these two traits are mutually exclusive, I'd say. However, in terms of stretching the truth to protect someone, I'd rather be told the harsh truth than having my ego fed by some lie. You can be kind but with an ugly intention, and that's not what anybody wants, including me.

Following this, do you think social media has the ability to show honesty and kindness?

Yes, if used to promote those values. Social media can be a great tool to show honesty and kindness to your audience if you're a blogger or an ordinary user. However, it can also be used as a facade by all to cover up the insecurities in their life, and that's not in any way being honest. But I don't blame them though. If your social media feed is the one thing that keeps you going, then why should you fill it with sadness too?

You can only listen to one song, watch one film and read one book for the rest of you life; what are your choices?

This is so difficult to choose haha I'm not so fond of having favourites because I appreciate a lot of things. For the song, it would probably have to be a Taylor Swift song (which makes this even harder). All Too Well. As for a film, I guess Miracles From Heaven (still love a lot of films), and for the book, I guess it would have to be a Young Adult type of genre. Sorry, I've finished writing a novel but I'm not much of a reader.

Would you rather be an extremely confident person with an average IQ or be a socially anxious person who is incredibly bright?

I'd rather be an extremely confident person with an average IQ, though, hopefully not too extreme. We don't want to seem too arrogant now, right? I think people skills make such a great impact on your career and your well-being and being confident is a good start. Even with all the knowledge inside your head but without the courage to share and interact with other people wouldn't mean as much as an average person who has her own voice.

Massive thank you to Monique for taking part in this Q&A, her blog is a joy to read so why not subscribe today @ www.lifebeginsattwenty.com

- Ellie x