Read. Write. Edit. [LONG. Very.]

Friday, September 12, 2008

When I was little and didn't go to school yet, I always wanted to learn so badly, especially to read. Mukmok nga ako lagi kapag si Kiwi (my older bro) papunta sa school tapos ako hindi pa rin nakakapuntang school. Lalo na kapag umuuwi siya tapos parang ang daming niyang natututunan sa school, tapos ako wlaang ma-say sa usapan kasi bobong bata pa ako.My mom was my first reading teacher. She bought this small yellow reading book for beginners, kasing liit at nipis lang ng mga Aesop's fables na cheap at tigki-kinse lang. Everyday, we had a new lesson from the book. I couldn't think of any more superb way to have learned how to read. Ang galing nung librong yun.

When I learned how to read, lahat ng mababasa, binabasa ko: our house had open shelves of books everywhere, and I would read stories, novels, magazines, how-tos, even encyclopedias!!! :)) Nerdcore talaga. Kapag lalabas kami, sa SLEX, pampalipas traffic, pinapabasa sa amin lahat ng billboard. That, and looking for Volkswagen cars. :D At lahat nga ng mababasa, matatake-note ko: brochures, store signs, everything. Kaya magaling ako makahanap ng lugar, kasi maaalala ko kung anong nabasa ko dun. :D

Then I started being amazed by what I read. I thought that if I was the person behind the words, I must have a really amazing mind!!! I started to empathize with the story characters and writers. Yung dialogue nila, the way they used words, yung mga phrases and idioms and their vocabularies. Natatak yun lahat sa utak ko.

Tapos nagkaroon ng cable. Important part to, dahil sa Blue's Clues at lahat ng Nick Jr shows sa Nickelodeon ako natuto ng fluent English. At sobrang crush ko nun si Steve, pero drug addict na daw siya ngayon. :)) Dahil sa cable, na may dala ng english shows, ang tataas ng grades ko sa English ng walang aral, yipee!!! That, and todo-todo talaga ako magbasa. Yun yung time talaga na kung anong makita ko, babasahin ko. Yung old english books ng kapatid ko, hinahanap ko yung stories.

Tapos dumating ang grade 4. Around grade 3, I heard of something from my brother called essays. Yung ipapasulat sila ng isang paragraph na aabutin sila ng isang oras kakaisip ng kung anong isusulat. I pined for that, kasi diba, yung mga tumatak sa isip ko, gustung-gusto kong gamitin, at dumating nung grade 4. New school, and first day pa lang, pinasulat kami ng isang paragraph about our summer vacation. Ang sinulat ko, nung bday ni papa tapos umakyat kami ng Taal. Enjoy ako nun, my very first essay. Pag tingin ko, ako pa lang tapos. Nagrewrite ako. Ako pa rin lang tapos. Inulit-ulit kong binasa yung essay ko. Halong super proud at super insecure ako nun. Baka kasi yung akala kong pagkaganda-ganda sa kin, ang sagwa pala sa iba, kaya mas matatagal sila. Laking gulat ko na lang nung binalik sa kin, tapos sabi nung teacher, i-rewrite ko daw. Natakot ako. Akala ko, ang ibig sabihin niya, rewrite as in ulitin. Yun pala, rewrite as in kopyahin ko sa papel at bigyan sila ng kopya, kasi ipapang-exhibit daw nila!!! First ever na na-establish sa utak ko na, uy, writing. Kaya pala. Dun din ako naging class president, nakatikim ng mataas na pulitika, kasi very coveted yung postion sa class na yun. Pang-VP lang kasi ako before that. :))

Lumipat ulit ako for grade 5. First time ko nakasali ng school publication. First time kong nakita pangalan ko sa school paper. Whoppee to the max. Tapos enjoy din yung english nun, kasi old school yun ng kapatid ko (wow, ang dami nga pa lang kinalaman ni Kiwi sa buhay ko), tapos may bonding sila nung english teacher. Actually, ng lahat ng teacher. Juvenile delinquent yung kapatid ko, at sa sobrang kabad boy, for some time, sa faculty siya kumakain ng lunch. :)) Pero nawala din yung legacy ng kapatid ko. My time to shine!!! :))

Grade 6. Best experiences ever. Mas seryoso yung publication sa nilipatan kong school (oo, lipat nanaman). Tapos malaki yung library, gigantic. Nakadiscover na rin ako ng internet. Nagtraining pa kami. Magaling yung adviser, tutok talaga kami. Tapos DSPC(Divisional). Sa awa ng Diyos, 1st, pero sa RSPC(Regional) 4th lang, tapos that year, cut-off ang 3rd, kahit nung previous years hanggang 7th ang napupunta sa national. Ang daya noh? Doon sumaksak sa brain ko: Journalist. Feature writer. At doon din ako nagsimulang mag-asam na one day, makakaEIC ako. Bwahahahaha!!! Ay, and since graduating year ko yun from elem, I bagged a Writer of the Year award. :D Here, solid ako (noon): I swore I would take Journalism or Mass Com. Oh yeah, and I also tried out for PHSA (Philippines High School for the Arts), pero hindi nakaya.

1st year. Medyo na-deads ako sa pagsusulat kasi walang publication, but I did my own writing. Got better at taking down notes and paying attention to details, and learning how to inject creativity. Mas na-enhance ako sa speaking naman. 2nd lang ako nung Declamation, pero I got emceeing jobs in school programs after that. :D Happy happy, joy joy...

2nd year. Whoa. Big move. Naging emo ang writing ko, medyo, pero super nag-grow ako in my writing, thanks to Maam Relyn (OMG I miss her talaga.). Biruin mo, natuto ako sumunod sa rules!!! Nakasali ulit sa big publication (Hillstar na yun: DCHS na ko nito), naka-essay writing competition, naka-Kadayawan covergae, na-interview si Sarah Geronimo. Ako din lang yung faithful umattend ng bawat meeting at sumali sa mga cover. :))

3rd year. Medyo namatay ulit ako dito. Iba kasi pinagkaabalahan ko, kasi naka 1st section na ulit ako (I mean from my previous schools. Patience ako nung 2nd year.) Tapos hindi pa kami masyadong active. Pero Feature Editor na ko nito, hindi lang ako naka-function. I started getting nerves and high hopes na ma-EIC ako, pero pinaubaya ko talaga yun kay God. At mas natuto rin ako sumunod ng rules, haha. NagDSPC kami, pero alam ko talagang tuyot at kulang kami sa practice. Si Lianne lang nakaabot ng Regional. We also had this newspaper project in Filipino. I finally got a taste for doing the editor thing. Omigosh, that project just wanted to go horribly bad for us, everything going wrong, pero in the end, tinanggap yung work namin kahit late ng isang araw at nakasubmit kami ng DALAWANG paper. (Accident yun) Yung yung sort of first baby ko. (As an editor-in-chief, your first baby is your first published issue. I learned that from Rod. Miss you guys!)

Summer yun before 4th year. One night, I tried to go to sleep, but I couldn't. Apat na oras ako gumulong-gulong sa kama. For some strange reason, wala akong maisip kundi Hillstar. How to make it better, what we can do, what we can change...nung hindi ko matiis dahil baka makalimutan ko lahat ng naisip ko, I typed it down on the computer. Nung natapos ako, sunrise na, and I had pages full of ideas and brainstorms. I knew I wanted, longed for that job.

4th year. Woo, pugsh, WEEE! Ayun na nga, after some deliberation, kahit matagal nang na-appoint, I finally swallowed the fact na hoy, EIC ako. The long lines of responsibilities stretched out before me. Like a human developing gills in water, I developed an additional sense, pero hindi pa extremely developed: extrasensory editor radar. Kapag may magandang nasulat, kapag may magandang masusulat, kung sinong magandang ipasulat...nakakabaliw. Basta bigla mo na lang marealize na wala kang maisip kundi yung kapakanan ng publication mo. For brief moments, completely attuned and devoted ang being mo sa pagiging EIC. It is a huge responsibility, and despite the long sleepless nights and running around and going nuts, especially these past weeks, it's also a huge joy.

As of now, I am in labor of my first official baby (I mean, we're layouting.). "Nagdalang-tao" ako for 3 agonizing months. I don't plan to take Journ or Mass Com anymore, but if God leads me there, I'll happily take it, and if not, I know that writing will never be taken out of my system. People are telling me it's the best choice for me though; but they don't know what's best for me, He does. ;) I long to do nothing but read, but 4th year is squishing the time and life out of me. But I still have dreams of sitting in a window seat with a stack of books and a plate of chocolate chip cookies beside me, just reading all day. I missed my chances in public speaking, hindi na ko pang-emcee material, thought someday I hope to do it again. I am elated, though, when my classmates are dead silent, listening, when I talk in class. (I love you, nerdcores!!!) May ilusyon din ako ng moderating a school paper in the future, or working for an official publication, kahit contributing lang. I feel the need to have to write and publish a book before I die. And I wish, someday, I will be able to pass this passion to someone--a daughter, a son, a student, or simply someone who knew me.

And is the story of my love affair with words. Haha. :p