(reader: It looks fairly positive that writer is in hiatus. She never wrote a single blog for a whole month or so. That’s why I believe I am in the position to take her place, atleast until she hits her head and remembers this blog account, and me. So while she is away, I would gladly take this opportunity to tell you what I know about her. Writer, wherever you are, this is for you. From your alterego, reader.)
Writer (by reader)
Writer is a struggling (developing?), well, writer.
She started writing when her mom taught her the alphabet before her preschool days and got the hang of it. She would imitate the letters down to the most detailed curves. She wanted her penmanship to be exquisitely fine and most readable before she ventured on the real essence of writing.
Her teachers took notice and always appointed her as the class secretary (because back then a class secretary’s duty is to write the names of those who are noisy, in the black board, which is basically green, for everyone to see. And it is such a pity for those noisy pupils to see their names written, more so in bad penmanship.) This may practically be her first writing assignment, from prep to fourth grade.
She embraced her duty as the class secretary so much because – her teachers liked her and thought what an angel she was; her name was NEVER on the list; she can bully her classmates, even the most naughty boys don’t mess with her; she gets icecream, or chocolate, or a biscuit during recess or dismissal, (Fatima ‘wag mo ako isulat bigyan kita icecream ‘maya! [Fatima don't write my name I'll give you ice cream later!] ); and finally, she was able to master her handwriting and develop confidence in it.
But it was only in the fifth grade when she started writing what she wants to write, her thoughts. Upon knowing that she would be transferring to the town’s public school, leaving her precious private school behind her, she felt sad. But she knew of the family’s financial turmoil so she couldnt, wouldnt complain. Besides, she wasnt a brat.
“I really wish this is just a nightmare, that tomorrow when I wake up I’ll still have to wear my maroon uniform and smart necktie and not the ugly plain green skirt my mother let me to try on a week ago. I’ve heard stories about public schools: that the books are so old and soiled and pupils have to share it for not all can get even just one; that the pupils wore tattered clothes and filthy slippers; that the teachers will ask the students to clean the school because of lack of janitors; and that most classes were held on the shades of the trees because there were only few classrooms. Everything is dilapidated there. What did I do wrong? I feel like being punished.”
That was writer’s very first journal entry. She felt so alone in her new school. Yes, some of her classmates would talk to her but they all have their own groups, sort of, and so she gets set aside still. She looked forward on her classes because it was during the class discussion when she can recite and talk, especially in her English class. She loved that class. A month had not passed yet but her teacher in English, Mrs. Ludivine Loresco, already took notice of her. She told writer to have a journal, like a diary, to write anything she wanted, that it will do her good. So writer did, and still does, after eight years or so, writer still keeps a journal.
This teacher also asked her to come to her house on weekends at 8am for spelling lessons. She said she never had a grand daughter, or any grand child, and she was smiling at writer when she said this. Writer smiled back. And this teacher also commended her to the school paper adviser, Mrs. Minerva Serafica, to be one of the campus writers. Still in fifth grade and a transferee, writer became the school’s feature writer. Thus came writer’s journalism awakening. Indeed, writer’s fifth grade teacher in English is her first writing mentor. She is very much grateful.
Come sixth grade, writer began focusing on campus journalism. Her sixth grade teacher in English and school paper adviser entrusted her to be the Copyreader and Headline writer, which meant she should know all areas of journalism writing, be it news, sports, feature, editorial, (and obituary? haha). Her school paper adviser taught her most things about journalism, setting her foundation and grasping her interest further. She told writer to avoid long words and express her thoughts simply but concisely, among a myriad of other lessons. She challenged writer to try to memorize a page of the dictionary weekly, which indeed expanded writer’s vocabulary enough before she quit it for something better and easier.
Upon her elementary graduation, writer realized that being transferred to a public school did her well. She found what she want, her interest. She knew she could write. And so she began dreaming.
She joyously enrolled in the town’s public highschool.
Her highschool years hold most of her major accomplishments as a campus journalist. She was the only freshman to pass the school paper screening, the only freshman to publish articles in the school papers, the only freshman to be included in the editorial staff, as the Copyreader and Headline writer. Second year came and writer had her first airplane ride, and her first national. She made it to the national schools press conference (NSPC) held at Surigao City, Surigao del Norte! Third year came and she again made it in the NSPC, this time in Kalibo, Aklan. And mind you, she won 3rd place!!! She regards this as her best achievement yet in journalism. Despite having many schoolpaper advisers in high school, she only regards two of them as her mentors. Sir Jaime Molina, whose thesaurus writer now possesses, always tell writer, remind her, to do good (Apiger mo! ) in every competition until they left for US before the NSPC in Surigao City. And Ms. Marliza Landicho, who gave writer loads of exercises in headline writing, made her cut out news clippings separating the articles from the headlines, who excuses her from classes to cover news stories outside school, who brought writer to the printing press to oversee the process, who was with her in Kalibo, touring places like Boracay. (“Amazing Aklan…” http://fatima-marla.livejournal.com/1662.html).
Her fourth year was not a blast, and all writer take pride about her final year in highschool is that she was the editor-in-chief in both the English and Filipino school papers, period. The school papers indeed served as her sanctuary back in her elementary and high school yesteryears.
She is currently spending her college years in the cool city of pines, pursuing BA Communication, majoring in JOURNALISM. Aside from her journ subjects, writer takes classes on creative nonfiction and literature. She have met two more mentors – her Humanities1 professor Maam Vicky Costina, who always gave her 15 minutes to discuss her thoughts on the topic infront of the class, and predicted her to be a great teacher someday; and her WritingProcess professor Maam Grace Subido, who taught her that good writing is controlled writing (among a myriad of other lessons), who said writer has ‘it’ but must be pushed more, and who introduced her to model writers, authors, and columnists, through their works.
Writer’s current frustration is to be published in Youngblood. She won’t give up on it. She doesnt think her college campus paper is a work of journalism, rather she sees it as plainly prejudiced with leftist, activist ideologies, so she didnt bother to join it. She plans to be an intern in the Philippine Daily Inquirer next year. She is still considering her Journ professor, Sir Jawo Abano, to be another mentor.
She said she is not worried about her future as a journalist because she believes she will be successful.
She knows she will make it. And make it, she will. #
*Note: Writer is always written italicized. Perhaps because she always tend to lean on the right side. (being a journalist and all…)
