Road Map
When I was a child, I was so uncertain on what I want and who I want to be when I grow up. Before, I thought that dreaming leads us to our definite purpose in life but as I go over the years, dreaming becomes so draining. I tried almost any talent I can do and offer to people from dancing to acting, speaking, and even pushing myself to do Math when I was in Elementary but then I always end up frustrated, disappointed, and sad. Well, maybe because no one is applauding me or maybe because I am just an imitator of what others are doing. Until one day, our English teacher saw my potential in writing when I am in the 5th grade. And so, they trained me and encouraged me to join our annual division schools’ press conference. From that day on, I have found what makes me happy and so my journalism journey began that day.
My first field in Journalism was News Writing where I was able to hone more my technical and academic writing skills along with my ability to fact-check the articles or content that I read. I am in that field until Grade 6 and when I entered High School, I was challenged by our School Paper Adviser to work on a team rather than working on my own and so that means I have to be with the Radio Broadcasting team that made me enhance further my broadcasting and speaking abilities and the next year, I was assigned as one of the writers for the Collab Team and so with that, I have been immersed to work on a team to pursue research, collaborative and publishing duties necessary for the publication of our paper. The next year, I was removed from the team because our School Paper Adviser saw my potential in solo writing hence, I am to represent our school for that year’s Division Schools’ Press Conference for the Feature Writing category. And I did not fail them. I won 1st Place and consequently earned a promotion as the Feature and Literary Editor for our publication. Being the FAL Editor, I was responsible for giving comments on feature and literary articles made by our staff writers and also provide them tips on how to make their writings more effective. That position enhanced my skill to proofread and lead my team to betterment.
My 6-year stay in our campus publication gave me a platform to master more my communication and social skills. It has also driven me to produce original ideas. Every day of my stay in the publication is a day of competition because the less productive you are, the more also your chances to be removed. Hence, I elevated my game too in research and interviewing people so I could get more leads to the articles I am writing. When I became one of the Head Editors of the team, I also gained a higher level of self-esteem and that gave me the ability to take initiative and make quick decisions under pressure knowing that what I will say will impact much the performance of the team.
As I pursue my journalism career, I admit that I still have a lot to learn and I believe that every journalist should have that kind of heart and commitment to learning. That it does not end on things that satisfy us but moreover should end on what satisfies the truth. To help me fulfill this, I will make sure that I am surrounded always by people who have more experience and/or knowledge in the field. I will be more optimistic and be more open to corrections. I will be open to changes. I will never stop learning from high caliber materials and resources and so I will practice continuously.
This is my road map. Now, I understand that uncertainty is only for those who are dead in their dreams. Certainty is for those who believe and success is for those who trust the process.
