People Powwow: Writing for a lifetime

BY HERBERT VEGO

LAST week, I was probably at the nadir of my writing life when my dear brother Efren passed away in Quezon City. I had to spend most of my waking hours receiving sympathizers at the funeral parlor where he was lying in state. Then, too, I had to steal time to write and edit online even while grieving. I consequently realized that journalism is akin to show business: “Come hell or high water, the show must go on.”

But of course, writing for a living in my entire lifetime is not a curse but a blessing. As long as I write, I hope to keep my mind sharp and resistant to senility.

It’s my writing career that has seen my son through elementary, secondary and nursing schools. Now 41, he has blazed an enviable nursing career: five years working at the Family Clinic in Quezon City, another five years in Abu Dhabi, two years in Canada, and now in his fourth year in New York.

If I were to live my life over, I would probably opt for a more financially rewarding career. But why should I regret having chosen journalism when it has always been my destiny? I guess every man is what he is because of past circumstances.

In my case, it all began in my sixth grade when my English teacher rated my themes more or less “90”.

In my third year at the Antique National School, I took and passed the qualifying examination for staff members of the high school organ, “The Madia-as”, bagging the position of news editor. From then on, I set my eyes on a writing career, which I thought was, and still is, honorable; not everybody could write.

My father opposed my plan: “Oh, no, writing will not make you rich. I have a better idea. Why don’t you become a veterinarian? There is great demand for animal doctors in government.”

I insisted on following my aptitude and finished a four-year AB-Journalism course at Manuel L. Quezon University in Quiapo, Manila.

It has been 44 years since then. In my first 10 years in the profession, I handled various jobs as press relation officer for movie and music companies, editor of an entertainment tabloid, stage show producer and freelance journalist in Manila. I came to Iloilo in 1981 to edit Panay News, which started as a weekly. It has grown into a daily – a feat many other local papers have tried but failed.

The transition from typewriter to computer has not been an easy learning experience for an old wordsmith. But having overcome the difficulty, I look forward to  riding further the technology wave.

Admittedly, however, making a living writing is no easy task in this country. It’s the rare writer who can splurge off his or her earnings. For those of us who simply love the job, survival is enough.

You must be familiar with the saying that those who can write, do; those who can’t, teach. I think that’s unfair for teachers who can write. Had I earned an MA or PhD degree, I would have taught for a living, too.

Of course, there are others like us with the ability to create new realities out of thin air — unheralded painters, singers, actors and other talents who thrive on the need to express themselves even in thankless jobs.

What about you? Do you make a living doing what you love?  Why is it so important?

Well, it’s because you love it and because self-expression is the stuff that human civilization is made of. Be proud because you produce what others consume./PN