With all the drama and peer pressure at school, writing became an outlet for me. Through writing, I’ve come to know myself more.
Sometimes I surprise myself with the ideas I come up with after a few pages of just writing.
I enjoy writing poems the most. I started writing poems at the early age of 13. When I entered high school at 14, I was put in an advanced placement English class in Hollywood High School.
Ms. Chapman, my teacher, was very funky and outgoing. Every few weeks or so, there would always be that one morning when she’d come in and just chat with us about all the things she learned from whatever trip she came from.
I guess the closeness she had with her students was the main thing that brought us even closer to writing.
She always made it fun. I never thought I would actually end up with a column in a magazine. It came to my surprise when, one day a couple of years ago, Eric Ramos asked me if I was interested to write for FHM.
I’d have to admit that even just writing once a month kept me busy the whole month because of all the e-mails I had to answer.
It was definitely a challenge for me because many people questioned me, while some disagreed that I can write at such a young age.
It really wasn’t as easy as it seemed. A year after that, someone else took over that part of their magazine. I was somewhat bothered but glad at the same time.
I thought it would be the end of my writing career at some point, but then I realized writing is the only thing loyal to me and losing that column didn’t necessarily mean I would have to stop writing, right?
A few weeks later, a good friend of ours, Tito Ricky Lo, asked me to submit an article for this newspaper. I was so nervous that I didn’t want to even bother trying to see if I would make it here!
I was very hesitant about it, but both Tito Ricky and my manager, Jojo Gabinete, encouraged me to pursue my writing.
When they told me that I would be writing every week, my first reaction was, "Whoa! Really? What can I possibly write about every week?"
And they told me, "anything you want..." I then started off with my life story and my family, and Tito Ricky liked it.
I couldn’t believe that I would be writing for The Philippine STAR! It feels so good when sometimes people come up to me and talk to me about the things I’ve written the previous week.
It’s a great feeling. But until now, the idea of writing for a big and well-circulated newspaper, still hasn’t sunk into my system. Like I’ve said before, this article has become more like my personal thoughts and ideas printed on paper.
And now that it’s been a year, I could hardly believe I’m still here. I saw Tito Ricky, in fact, just the other day and he was the one who reminded me that I’ve been writing for a year now, and he told me to keep it up.
The event I attended the other day, where I saw Tito Ricky, was a last-minute invite. I can’t remember when the last time was that I saw him.
This time, I guess, was simply a reminder that I should really treasure this column of mine. I thank all of you, who take your time to read my article every Sunday. I feel much more connected to all of you through my articles.
Thank you so much Tito Ricky and also my manager, Jojo, for always guiding me through my writing. Celebrating this first year of writing this column is probably one of the best gifts I’ve received this Christmas.
I surely hope to have more columns in the coming year.
(You can e-mail me at julianapalermo785@yahoo.com)