MOST PEOPLE would assume that my taking up of journalism was due to my passion in writing since I was a student writer myself in high school. But I was actually inspired by my dream to become the next big thing in the publishing world.
I liken a journalist’s life to that of Andrea Sachs, the aspiring journalist turned personal assistant of a powerful fashion magazine editor in The Devil Wears Prada, and Rebecca Bloomwood, fashion journalist-wannabe in Confession of a Shopaholic.
Appealing and glamorous, such fictional characters are said to be involved in lipstick journalism, which stereotypes a journalist’s real job description.
In reality, journalism entails a life of responsibility and sacrifice.
More important perhaps, it is motivated and defined by deadlines.
The word deadline clearly defines my Thomasian self, especially since I am a member of the country’s oldest Catholic student publication, the Varsitarian.
In my four years in the University, deadlines were a main course in my daily activities.
More important, they were my dose of inspiration for my writer self as they were my foremost reminder that a work has to be done by hook or by crook.
Clearly, deadlines had defined my life in the University—deadlines for assignments, projects, theses, articles and deadlines for important decisions.
As I face the real world, I bring with me heartfelt memories of UST as well as the unforgettable experiences and lasting relationships I had made in the Varsitarian.
It was a twist of fate, but I consider myself the luckiest to be appointed Assistant News editor from being a writer of the Features section. It is here where I became part of the pioneering team of V Exclusives, the Varsitarian’s online media outlet, which paved way to many opportunities.
I would like to express my utmost gratitude to God for giving me a family, who has always stood by with their undying love and understanding, and for the “V” experience, especially to my mentors: Joselito Zulueta, Felipe Salvosa II, Christian Esguerra and Eldric Peredo for their guidance and undying support throughout my stay in the publication.
To my fellow soon-to-be Amihans (Varsitarian alumni), thank you for the wonderful and exciting stories we all shared. We have been through so much, including those controversies, which, in retrospect, are a little funny.
Words, written or said, cannot express how grateful I am to the Varsitarian for what I have become right now. I have with me a life-changing experience that would probably surpass any four or five-year degree. One Amihan would describe his college degree as “Bachelor of Arts, Major in The Varsitarian.” I couldn’t agree more.
For most of our lives, we have been chasing deadlines. Now, I am way past mine here in the University and the Varsitarian. It is time to chase new ones.
But it isn’t bad to look back from time to time. After all, it is the University and the Varsitarian especially that have chartered my course in life as a future journalist.
