God is in the details.It was not until in fourth grade that my writing capability was recognized by my, then, yet to be teacher. She was the school paper adviser, and at that moment, was screening possible representatives for the District Press Conference, and not exactly for the staff. I guess it was natural to her her exaggeration of reaction. She was impressed of how I wrote my one-paragraph sample feature. Actually, I was still, then, clueless of feature writing. She just told us to write something about somebody. I wrote about my mother. I mean, not exactly my mother. I wrote a descriptive paragraph about mothers in general. And I just won her respect by the leading sentence I used: "The most interesting person that I know is my mother..."
Now, that's feature.
And that's where my story as a Feature writer started out.
I was sent to the delegation, learning nothing more about Feature writing than using lots of adjectives or picture words. The topic was given: "Aklat Bilang Behikulo ng Kaunlaran". I filled no more than a whole page for I knew barely on rationalizing statements as such. I was ten and too naive then. I was unintentionally goofing around. But hey, I won the third place.
On fifth grade, I was already actively participating with the school paper staff where everybody's in sixth grade. At the press conference, I couldn't quite recall the topic I've written about. But what made that contest unforgettable is that we won in all the categories - Editorial, Feature, Sports, Photojournalism, and Copyreading & Headline Writing, and all of us made it to the second place!
We were able to step up into the next level - Area level. It was also unforgettable because that was when I experienced my very first failure. I lost. The topic in English category was about the host school and in Filipino, "ang paglubog ng barkong *something* Prinsesa". The heck do I know about the host school, and even more on that of the accident! I don't watch the News, so I am totally ignorant. But that experience made me realize one thing: Journalism is no children's game. It's meant to be serious, in a way that it presents social awareness, even if it is in the form of entertainment, on which I have only been introduced to. Gradually, I would be learning and discovering more through the succeeding experiences I would soon encounter.
By the time I was in sixth grade, I was already a hotshot. Hah! I knew enough how to play the game --- the longer, the better. It was the trend I observed since my amateur years. Those who won the gold had a full page or two. The more you say, the greater the chance to win. Of course, it was misleading. And since I am continuously learning from experiences, I would realize its stupidity later on... later on... later on when I will hear Prof. Ceciliano Cruz on his talk, give a tip in News writing: "KISS --- Keep It Short & Simple. Remember, you are writing to express not to impress," and I will remember him until now for what he said had made sense.
I won the gold finally, but it didn't satisfy me. "I learned enough, I'm ready to avenge my loss." I competed in the Area level and got the third place for "Traveling, Exciting", a feature on your (mine) unusual hobby. In addition, I also got a certificate as a sixth-placer in News Writing. Beginner's luck, I suppose.
News Writing is another story. Actually, I wasn't able to appreciate it much. I didn't get enough training, and the basics I knew were too elementary that I cannot use it when I was put into the category haphazardly in high school. Since I hated losing (who would not?), I gave up News writing after that incident.
Competing in the Division level is more than what I could ever ask for. But something more happened. The fact that I was really enjoying the three-day affair in the company of a classmate and newfound friends, i.e. district school mates (here in the Division level we are all on the same side), and not minding our supposedly guardian (the school paper adviser), who left me and my classmate in the sympathy of our newfound friends' teachers because she has some more important matters to attend to (1st Foul), freed me from the tension arising in the contest, that soon enough I remember myself comfortably writing during the contest proper. It was late in October so we were given the theme: "All Souls' Day".
I later on realized it was a common experience to student-journalists, and oh how I pitied my younger self for believing that obsolete criticism, but at that time, I felt so foolish because she had rejected altogether my draft feature, correcting almost every word and actually changing the whole idea, so I reckoned I mustn't have been really a good writer then. I felt so bad. She was the teacher after all. I am just a student. Even without actually saying, she's implying that I'm no good in writing, I'm still naive.
But in the end, she had to retract. I still won the fifth place.
She knew the grammar. I knew the style.
I wrote "Let us remember not to forget...". She cut it down to "Let us not forget", but the rhythm is gone. Awww.
Do I sound like bragging now? All right I'll cut it out.
This time, when I went to the Regional level, I finally made myself understand that losing cannot be avoided especially if the competition is tight, just like now (there are nine provinces, and what--how many-- numbers of Divisions per province, each having six winners per category... it's more than 54, say a hundred!). I just consoled myself with the fact that I've come so far and achieved more than anybody in my school did, which is true, back then.
I lost. I emptied my mind from the details altogether, so I couldn't even remember the theme.
Then I went to high school.
On the first week of school, I introduced myself in front of a temporary class as one having a talent in writing. How soon of me being an egghead!
I joined in the school paper right away, but I was yet to be recognized. Anyway, I wasn't in a hurry so for the mean time, I contented myself being just a name on the staff box.
On my second year, I finally made a contribution. I wrote about hair dyes and nail polishes, but it's just a small part of an article on Fashion. Still, I took pride in it, especially when I saw my name on the Feature page, other than on the staff box.
It was during this year when I was finally admitted to the competing list. But since I was ousted (that was the term my school paper adviser used after we submitted our feature article about the then newly-presided GMA after Erap was overthrown) by a senior for the second slot on Feature writing (the first slot was claimed by a senior, also), I was put into the News Writing category as what I have already told earlier. I did not find it a good start at all, but then again, I would soon enough be reunited with my forte.
I became active on my third year. Our batch actually, since we outnumbered our senior staff. We actually did the whole paper. We did the entire process of writing---from research to conducting interviews, editing contributions, collecting photos, and typing. We were excused from our classes for a week. We were also involved in lay-outing and spent a night on the Publishing office, assisting in choosing and applying designs. It was an exhausting but fun experience. Also, there's that proud feeling of accomplishment when the papers finally came out, were distributed throughout, and read by the whole school.
In my part, I felt even more proud. I had contributed a big part on researching and writing up, mostly on my flaw (but which I did fairly well with the assistance of editor), news. I also claimed an almost full (around three-fourths) page entirely to myself. I had a column about teenagers, of which I could no longer remember the title, although my column's been called "Teen-E Win-E", as suggested by a co-staff. I was too excited writing the "Diary of Hate" (inspired by an article about a geek on Jessica Zafra's Twisted V that I've reread several times) that I had to cut the longest entry in the diary, which I couldn't even recall. Also, I finally made it to a reunion with Feature writing and won third place in the Division level. My team mate also won and got on to the 6th place. I couldn't exactly remember the title of my article ("In A Battlefield" sort of), but I can still very well remember hers: "Fear with a Kiss of Hope".
But there was nothing more wonderful a feeling than for our paper bagging awards in the Regional level - 1st place in Layout, and 5th place both in Editorial and News Page (if my memory serves me right). Even if we didn't win on our individual categories, we're still winners because we're behind the paper's successes. Our hard work paid off. We were appreciated and we were recognized. At last!
My second term as a Feature editor on my fourth year proved a much brighter prospect, both for myself and for our school paper.
I made two columns, but the one is published under the name of a co-staff. The one I had my name and photo on, is about school uniforms and the concept of universality. I felt the urge to write about it because students, more often than not, are being labeled through their uniforms (i.e. by school stereotype). And the students of my school (that includes me) are not exempted. On the contrary, we are the major victims of discrimination because of the negative stereotype our school is bearing on its seal. Without putting into actual writing, I was actually raising an anti-school uniforms campaign, or anti-uniformity, in general. But I don't think anybody got the hint. I was hoping, back then, that they were just too negligent they cannot be provoked without actually spreading propaganda just so their attention can be called. But of course, I knew the real reason of inactivity. I hate to admit it, but then I would be a coward for not accepting my defeat. They didn't read. They either threw out the papers or they sold it to the flea market just so the vendors can have wrappers for dried fish.
The second column of which I wasn't given due credit is supposedly mean and aggressive. So the column was entitled "Sharp-Shooter", and the article "Bull's Eye". But then again, there was no response at all. I included there the functional but locked Men's comfort rooms and the issue on food sanitation, wherein a particular vendor, caught red-handed by my teacher and the whole Math class early one morning, actually dipped her hand while scooping-in a "palamig" to a student right after holding out a tattered ten peso bill.
I had a hang-over of Youngblood, so that my entry was entitled "Tie That Binds" (from the "Ties that Bind" article) based on the theme: Unity. I was fooling around and feeling funny during the contest proper, and I don't even think I actually made a proper essay, because I was writing one sentence per line, as if I were doing a free verse. Later on that day, my adviser asked me for the title of my entry. She already knew the result but the Awarding Ceremony is not until next day (Until now, that thing about teachers knowing the results beforehand still remains to be a great mystery to me). I won the first place. It could have been the grandest day of my high school life, conquering again the Feature writing category, if it wasn't for a team quiz bee I was forced to join into at the very same day of the awarding rites, where we actually lost, by the way. I didn't even get my medal! Nobody cared to keep it for me. Still, I won.
Regional level was also fun. Exactly the very same experience in sixth grade. More than half of our staff won in the Division level so we were one big, happy crowd. If I had for an entry in the Division level a hang-over of Youngblood, as I said before, my article in the Regional level turned out to be a mark of my Ragnarok Online game obsession at that time. I can still remember tagging along a co-staffer-and-co-gamer looking throughout the area for an internet cafe with the online game, but to no avail. The contest was quite difficult because I was ignorant and too baffled with politics then. We were told to write a feature about who we want to win in the upcoming National Election. I wrote about Roco-Legarda tandem, with much difficulty trying to come up with a relatively decent story out of cluelessness. I was too frustrated that soon after the contest is over, I bought a cycling shorts and splashed into the municipal-owned swimming pool next to our quarters. Some of my co-staff laughed at the title, because it was obvious it came from the online game: "Picky Pick". But I had no idea that good old Dumbledore would charm the judge. I won fifth place with an introduction of a quote from Dumbledore, a personal favorite, which I just crazily incorporated into the feature because I felt like fooling around: "It is our choice that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
I attended workshops in preparation for the National Schools Press Conference. We were given exercises to test our creativity, innovativeness, and resourcefulness in writing. We have to write short articles, a paragraph or two about a certain topic, then we have to read them aloud, and afterwards, hear the comments of the trainer. One particular topic I remembered writing about is that of Mayor Vilma Santos. I did not like writing about specific people and places because I didn't have sufficient background about them. Again I just fooled around describing Ate Vi. Our articles were passed on to the Copyreaders as part of their workshop. Even before our papers were returned to us, there was a shushed commotion between our trainer and one or two more trainers. It was actually because of my article. When my paper was returned, I saw my title about Ate Vi, "Falling Star" changed into "Shooting Star". The trainers could agree no less with the copyreader who found the word "falling" as negative. I agree, but I guess I wasn't just paying attention to censure at that time, and when I wrote "falling star", I was actually thinking of a "shooting star". I couldn't just grope the appropriate word when I was writing the article down. I also wrote about the topic FPJ as president of RP. I cannot remember my title anymore but I definitely wrote a mean thing about him. I was being disrespectful because of the fact that I knew nothing of politics and of politicking. I didn't plan on even writing any feature about politicians but I have been constantly being fed with it lately that I can't help but fool around just to stay and write. I wrote about my vision of the Philippines in 2004. I think it's because of this kind of topic that I learned how to write fiction. I wrote fragments of words "hollow", "empty", dead bran cells" which altogether indicate ignorance. The guest speaker judged our features. When I received mine back, I was expecting a bloody paper with red marks all over. I received a comment "Good".
When I went to the National level, the topic is still, on politics. I was feeling very tensed during the contest, that I was trying to write more seriously on my fiction story, I entitled it "Final Destination". I had to convince myself it was related to my feature, but it seemed more like of describing me: Here am I on the National level. This is the last competition. This is the last chance. I'm on my senior year, soon to be graduating. After this, it's the end.
I lost. Nobody won from our Division.
Except for our school paper. It got three or four trophies. It won miraculously 2nd place in the Sports Page.
Schools Press Conference is all over.
I graduated and went to college. I forgot all about it, until one day I started missing it. Back in my place, the same old people must have been still competing with each other, but on to the next level. They could have been either in college or high school already. Then I started recalling all about my Feature writing experiences, and here are they now, as alive as I can remember them way back then.
Kwentong nabuo pagkatapos basahin ang Teacher Man ni Frank McCourt.
