The Feast PICC taught me to visualize my dreams. The
Novena to God’s Love trained me to set specific goals with feasible timelines.
In 2014 I decided I want to become a published writer. I
was serious with the dream but not yet with the corresponding investments (physical,
financial, and social) to make it happen.
Baby
steps
I found the Internet as a great space to share my
thoughts and experiences so I created a blog where
I post anything that interests and affects me.
In May 2014, I joined the Feat PICC Print Media Ministry
as a writer. I diligently covered my assigned talks and homilies and submitted
my articles on time. The sacrifice paid off when, for the first time in a long
time, I saw my byline in a publication. It brought back great energy to my
insecure hands.
Bolder
aspirations
I also wrote in my Novena that I aspire to be published
in Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Young Blood column, a section that accepts
contributions from young writers who have relevant opinion about basically any
topic under the sun.
Fast forward to September 2014 and my first essay “Papa, Don’tPreach” was published. As the year turned, my second article “Pope of ManyQuestions” was also accommodated by the editors.
No
longer a ‘virgin’
God made my first two dreams come true. I took them as
signs that He wants the best for me so I wrote another bold prediction. I asked
to be one of the playwrights in Virgin Labfest (VLF), a festival of untried,
untested, and unstaged one-act plays in the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
I knew that achieving such goal entails bigger and bolder
preparations. I took up Theater Arts and Basic Acting classes at the Philippine
Education Theater Association (PETA) to immerse in theater. I bought books featuring
some of the best local and international plays ever written (big credit to the
ultimate bookworm haven, Book Sale), I watched several productions from
different theater groups to appreciate the craft, and I wrote ideas in my phone
and in my notebook to make sure that I don’t forget good dialogues and hard-hitting
punch lines.
To cut the long story short, I poured a generous amount of
time, money, effort, and mixed them up with bowls of creativity and courage,
and flavored them to perfection with pitchers of hope and faith just to be
called a writer.
Fast forward to April this year – my play “The Wedding
Planners” was chosen as one of the Staged Readings for Virgin Labfest 11. The
festival opened up opportunities for me including working with young actors whom
I admired and developing the play to an emotional and entertaining piece of
work.
It was staged last June 26 and several friends,
colleagues, and loved ones (most especially my parents) were there to watch it.
That was a night filled with love, support, and admiration.
***
I feel truly blessed as I look back on my VLF experience.
I was calling on God to bless me from the time I dreamed of becoming a writer,
to the countless days-turned-nights when I wrote my play, to the day of the
announcement, until that moment when the lights turned off and the actors
became my characters.
I have a lot of people to thank for but God comes first
and last. He is writing one hardworking life story and I am fortunate he is
letting me contribute. I am thankful that God gave me this talent, through
which I am able to bless, inspire, and entertain many. I will end this blessing
blog with my favorite quotation from Mother Theresa, “I am but a little pencil
in the hand of a writing God.”
Note to readers: This was originally submitted to the Bulletin of Feast Bay Area, the author's Catholic charismatic community led by Bro. Bo Sanchez.
