Red Room Where the Writers Are

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      Like any other kid when asked what do I want to be when I grow up, I always said “I wanna be a doctor!” Playing with my plastic dolls, using my headband as stethoscope, I weaved this childhood dream. It’s my second choice of profession, second to becoming a writer (some friends may not know this but I also dreamt of becoming a pediatrician!). Sad to say the immediate response thrown on my face was my parents saying, “We can’t afford to send you to medical school so why not try to be something else?” Then I hurriedly say, “Ok then, I would just be a writer or a painter! How bout that?” They just said another negative thing that stucked on my mind : “There is no money in that profession!.” I was too young then but I promised myself no matter what happens, I’ll follow my dream of becoming a “pen pusher”! I had my share of a number of corporate jobs along the way after finishing Business and Computer schools which brought me not self-fulfillment but heartaches and deep frustrations…it’s like there’s no meaning behind those big buildings, crisp uniforms and attractive compensations I was offered. I keep on searching for my real place in this world until one faithful day I was given a break in a local newspaper to be a news reporter! I found my first niche in writing and proud to say I started from scratch and relied on my innate talent and skills to come up with news stories that tickled my reader’s minds and made them beg for more! My very first published essay and poem is in a local magazine “Blue Collar” which is a under the Don Bosco College publication and a supplementary material during our high school days really which gained the attention of my former teachers, friends and family.

     How did this interest in writing start? It can be traced back maybe when my Dad used to cuddle me and my sister every night on my bed and told us some of his childhood stories and dreams- yes, my father is my first “storyteller” and he always told me that he was one frustrated journalist. I don’t know if in my subconscious I wanted to fulfill what he wasn’t able to accomplish before. I just suddenly caught myself having this fondness for books and writing rather than parties and playing outside with other kids. I found solace and comfort whenever I was doodling so many thoughts on my mind and cannot express them awfully verbally, as I used to be a very shy and quiet lass way back in my elementary and high school days. Yes, I considered myself as “weird” up to this very day as one of the chosen few who were graced with a mighty pen as sword. You might think a writer’s mind is complex when you get a chance to have a sneak peek into it! You consider us “creeps” when we consider you as “ordinary” beings – hehe! You might want to distance yourself when you see us in a “trance” of concentrating on our particular topic and having no care in the world once we start striking the keys as ideas come flooding our minds…(like what I’m doing now…)This is just what we were born to do – THINK, THINK, THINK AND WRITE, WRITE, WRITE… We have our share of  “down time” too – like pesky internet connections and computer breakdowns, we have episodes of the dreadful – writer’s block!

       So what’s the glory in being a writer? Some would ask is it the money, fame, or exposure? For me, it’s the glory of the byline – to be able to see in bold printed letters your name underneath the article title!

       For people to recognize you based on your writing style and type of stories you offer to your readers – whether you be a witty, serious or funny writer.

       I don’t really wanna be typecasted in one writing genre – I want to be one flexible writer, strike anywhere pen slave, ever ready to go to battle and cast my ideas on paper or the keyboard.

       Writing is not a no-brainer job and along with the tight deadlines are also some perks and it’s not just monetary terms that I’m talking about my dear but rare opportunities to rub elbows with the rich and famous and expose yourself to different kinds of people and circumstances that help you grow as an individual. These cannot be offered by a 9-5 job that’s oh so boring and routinary! (sorry but that’s how I put it after this great realization that I shouldn’t have wasted my precious years in those dead-end jobs I had) Writing is an ageless, retirement-free profession! You can start at 6 and still continue until you reach 96 or better yet 106! I’m going to spend my future family life writing and telling my future children its value and encourage them to be writers too or better yet support them in whatever career they want to undertake and will not deprive them of their dreams. I’d die writing if it’s the last thing I’ll be doing before I step out of this world – you can’t stop a writer from being one cause it’s like a sickness that creeps all over our system and must let out all the ideas before they come bursting on our faces. The glory of writing can’t be explained in just plain words and that only true writers at heart can understand.