Hello @hive,  
My name is Elora. I am 23 years old, born and brought up in  the Southern part of Nigeria, specifically Edo State. 
I would like to begin by saying a big thank you to one of my dearest friends @samostically who has been a constant source of motivation, encouragement and support in my decision to join this community. 


![58d8258b-2e93-45d0-9306-1562943da64f.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/draco2/23zS36MKL1kP6sFvZFRqtvys5pWpXboN8fdpTLBkQQqQ7quMyNRarzZBxr87Kdvhfte7B.jpeg)

![IMG_3535.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/draco2/23zkw9Y9kkdrDkBNLKUEBzMvoWPKx3g82CPPhkPbKtCQfWGx9h47w6XjwXNYxFGukbr6X.jpeg)



My first point of contact with this platform goes as far back as 2022 when @samostically had a conversation with me about his work on hive and how beneficial it had been to him. For someone like myself who is shy, in as much as I was interested in learning more and giving it a try, the realization that I would have to put myself out there made me quite reluctant to start. Nevertheless, here I am almost 3 years later about to publish my first post!

### ABOUT MYSELF

![b3b04e05-2812-42e4-9b70-f21545e8cbad.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/draco2/23yJV9B1R9sUU95d5mmARVR9Mr2iMF6SZV2jX5AWvRg65MZvRpduBm4NJA6sui9CrLcA6.jpeg)

![IMG_4039.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/draco2/23xpCe6jB46YuZFDVuSUNvayoABtgajMgvaKHAU4PgcCxkPob3119fEbekgSXLnjZjhP9.jpeg)

![IMG_2665.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/draco2/23viAQFVZ2JXXtNkMYKGtRgyDNs2eWRXvdxSsK2eazgFtQXMZtwsY2FgjS5Nr4nNbabAx.jpeg)


I graduated from the University of Benin, where I studied French language and obtained my bachelor’s degree in 2023. I am currently undergoing my National youth service program (a compulsory one year of service to the Nigerian government) in Asaba, Delta State and work under the administration unit of the Delta state government
My experience as a corps member has been a bitter-sweet one but much like everything in life, it is slowly coming to an end.

I’m a home-body and as such, I quite enjoy my own company. This has become a constant point of complaint and worry from my parents because they believe that I shouldn’t always keep myself boxed in and that I need to interact more with others as well as learn to express myself.
 ‘You need to put yourself out there’, they often say, and slowly but surely I am beginning to do just that. Being on this platform is one of the few steps I have taken to get out of my comfort zone. 

### MY HOBBIES
I’ve always loved to read, so much that it was my dream growing up to become a writer. However, I’ve since come to the realization that though I might not be entirely cut out for that path, I quite enjoy spotting grammatical errors and paraphrasing texts, which in turn has sparked an interest in becoming an editor.

My absolute favorite book and quite possibly, my favorite movie adaptation of all time is the entire Harry Potter series by J.K Rowlings; hence the username, Draco2. Every year, I find myself reading at least one book from the collection, so if you’re a POTTERHEAD like me, I’d love to connect!  I also enjoy romance and historical fantasy novels but my interests are not limited to these. I read whatever I find to be interesting irrespective of the genre.

I also love to listen to music, specifically soul-music because it helps provide a sense of calmness and peace. That’s not to say I’m not versatile with my choices. I can switch from soul-music to rap depending on whatever mood I’m in😂

“I’m a chess player”. Whenever I say this, I get a lot of mixed reactions, majority of them being positive. This is because people have come to associate the game with high intelligence and intellect. 


### HOW CHESS CAPTURED MY HEART


![42d3a211-0fd5-46f9-87ba-4154283e5370.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/draco2/23yd1RQcKC65tnza6tZaoR1bNBjif6YBvmSiUq4pf3P9rVPDs5BZujLmfzczpBpmguAAN.jpeg)

![IMG_1427.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/draco2/23xAieB4CkFrQRM1wKLqkZjUXWQHoRLi78rMARbQR2dYUCFmhm2DxTEZ2VVVNmnqsE9J5.jpeg)

Asides reading and music, there isn’t much else that peaks my interest. But the game of chess was a wonderful addition to my hobbies, so much so that it has become quite an integral part of who I am as a person, influencing my day to day activities as well as my career choices.


I first learnt to play while I was in secondary school at about 14 years old. I’ll never forget the day I saw a chess board for the first time. It was on my dad’s laptop and I will always term it as ‘love at first sight.’ I took an instant liking to the game even bordering on obsession to the point that I would carry a mini chess board around my secondary school, calling it ‘my baby’. I can’t count how many times it was seized by the school principal!😂 
 I learnt to move the pieces as well as the principles of the game from a chess and scrabble instructor working at my mom’s school at the time. 
However, it wasn’t until I gained admission into the University of Benin in 2018/2019 that my chess journey began 

 ‘UNIBEN has a chess club!’, my former secondary school classmate and chess enthusiast like myself informed me at the start of the academic session. That day, we ran all the way from our faculty to the uniben sports complex. It was quite a distance, but we both could care less due to our excitement. Getting there, we registered and became a part of the team, showing up almost every single day of the week to train or even simply just to watch others play. I even became the captain of the female team in my final year. 
The uniben chess club became my second family and thanks to them, I was able to connect with the nigerian chess world and grow as a player. 

![IMG_2150.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/draco2/23y8r2VnLETwwCvSn3i4kZkRsh1A9W8ghWSo2m7AXpqELiCrT7BjfynLRtuMeQBdTDd66.jpeg)

![IMG_2149.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/draco2/AK9PGLAT7LrtMRrCc1korFWzjvvJgus2nWxsqoNEtYScz23MhPGaKN33cPXDXSF.jpeg) 

In my subsequent posts, I hope to share my chess journey with you all; both the past, current and future events that have shaped and will no doubt continue to shape who I am.  This is one of the key factors as to why I decided to join the hive community. 

### OTHER ENGAGEMENTS 

Asides chess, I’ve begun to take up an interest in delving into tech, specifically AI and Machine Learning, as well as Data Analysis. Though I do not have any profound knowledge on these topics, I believe the job opportunities they provide are quite motivating and worth exploring.

### CONCLUSION 
That’s all for now and if you’ve read up until this point, a big thank you! Please share your thoughts and opinions down in the comments so I can follow and interact more. I look forward to growing with a community of like minded individuals.

Special thanks goes out to @stayoutoftherz for helping me create my account and also to @aliento for delegating the resource credits I needed to publish this post. Your support means a lot!