Hubby says, I could make a book yet and he has been saying that since I started keeping a journal. An ambition I have nurtured for the past several years but I do think I don’t have that talent to write a book, much less publish one. My field was in banking and although I majored in Economics, I haven’t lost my love of the written word and I did try to dabble in short story writing and some bits of poetry, mostly about love, some teenage way of coping with the lonely days of pining for an unreachable star. Those were the years when almost everyday, I kept my journal updated, and between bouts of crying and mooning over a lost love, I found that writing was such a sort of catharsis to get over the sleepless nights and dreamful wakefulness. Have I been that emotional? There comes a point in anyone’s life that one becomes vulnerable, capable of feeling so much pain in the process but growing wiser in the end.
I kept my dream though, and in between raising a family and being busy earning a living, I nurtured it till I was brave enough to share that journal publicly, through my blog. About a year ago, I subscribed to the online site of one of the major newspapers, The Philippine Star, since I was a regular follower of Lucy Torres’ byline published every Sunday. The first time I got invited to share my thoughts, it was for their anniversary issue and the question was, “Why do you read Philippine Star?”. That was easy enough so I submitted my entry and luckily it was published during their anniversary. My friends and I were so excited seeing my picture and article in print. How happier could you get? The second invitation came when Pres. Cory Aquino died. I felt I could never do justice to a lady revered and respected by many. Although I wrote a blog about Ninoy before, it was not enough. Last February 18, I got another invite via e-mail. The topic was about OFWs and their families, their rich experiences traversing life with an incomplete family. I felt I really could relate. Twenty years of living that kind of life gave me the chance to share, but this time it is a sort of contest entitled Share Your Story. I asked two of my close friends if I could pull it off if I give it a try. Lovell wrote back, “Wow, that’s great. Certainly you will”. And Karen texted, “Of course you could. Kaya mo yan, go, go, go girl. Good luck”. Wow, those words gave me the courage to share my life to the world.
It’s been published and I feel happy that it was. I posted a link here earlier, Finally home | Home The Filipino Global Community Share Your Story. Winning in the final judging would be another bonus but win or loss, I feel I’ve achieved something for myself at least. It might not be that gargantuan but it gives me that certain high to see my name again in print, read by many and if I could touch some lives sharing my story, that would be a dream fulfilled for me.
Dreams And Escapes 