INK-STRICKEN PALMS

Lakwatsera/n./ Filipino word for a traveller, someone who ventures out a lot

My mom took a three-day vacation in Puerto Prinsesa, Palawan with her office mates and I had school so I wasn’t able to come with her huhu and she got me a shirt that says “Lakwatsera sa Palawan” (Traveller in Palawan).

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m a writer—and not just a sweet little girl in long braids who wants to live in Paris and writes to herself using flowery words (although I’d like to be one)—an actual journalist who competes on inter-city competitions against neighboring schools.I haven’t published any work yet (but if our school paper counts, then I am published in a different circumstance), but my editorials have took me as far as Lucena City, against the best writers on Region 4-A. I failed to claim a place on the honor roll, but nonetheless, I have accomplished a lot for myself, considering I just used to scribble on the back of my Math notebook during class, ranting about anything you could imagine—from house bills causing debates on the Senate to how boring the class I am currently in is. However, it’s been almost two years that I last wrote for leisure; those essays at examinations and petty comments on this blog are the last evidences of my journalism premonition. Hence I don’t know what I’m doing here, tapping random keys on my laptop, hoping I could deliver the correct message and that my readers (I have one of those???) can percept what I really want to say. I am at a current state of wrecking my brain cells, trying to dig up my ~*writing skills*~ on the back of my head to hone them again, even though I am quite reluctant on what I am about to write about.

I was having some thoughts of removing my glasses. I actually don’t need them when I shoot, but I think I want them to be my trademark. I don’t want to wear contacts anyway, so why not?

Back in media convergences, my main goal was to inform people through my text—I’ve never tried writing to inspire. I don’t know why, maybe because I’m too frightened or insecure that my unorganized thoughts have no ability to open eyes or make people rethink their system of beliefs. One morning, in class, our English teacher told us about the impending journalism competition that occurs once every school year, talking about who he thinks is qualified enough. I don’t know how it got his way, but he began to talk about my style of writing; his exact words were “direct-to-the-point and obviously an editorial writer who is seeking to inform”. It was supposed to be a compliment, but I was rather insulted, if I may use the term, because I’m striving so hard to make my method as flexible as possible. Writing to add knowledge is actually very rewarding, yet there’s a different impact on both me and the reader if I actually write to changetheir perception of life. That isn't really my goal, but it will be refreshing and even more gratifying if I was able to make someone tilt their head into deep thinking through my blurbs. I may be devastated at the end of this endeavor because I’m not very deep into my own thoughts, so I guess you won’t be seeing any of my overviews because I am still quite diffident.

Anyways, I have been on a journalism training by the City of Dasmariñas Association of Private Schools (CDAPS), wherein last Saturday, we had a contest, and the top 20 will ascend to the inter-city division. It was a pretty tough crowd—I’m only an eight-grader for crying out loud and there were more than thirty competitors, most of them seniors with more years of experience. But guess what—I got in, and I actually won gold. Yes, gold, first place, defeating all the students older than me, who had more preparation than me. It was super surreal, since everyone was very focused and impressive. I recall my English teacher reminding us to stay classy and just stand and applaud when one of us gets called to the stage, but he was actually the loudest when my name was uttered! 

I have this batch of photos kept in case something comes up and I can't shoot (and by something I did not expect my camera falling to pieces). I am also considering on changing my blog's url. I will also include more text into my posts; OCD is now both a fashion and writing blog. I will focus more on my content than on ad swaps and whatsoever. I'm now drafting quite a number of posts and I can't wait to publish them!