EVER since I can remember, I have wanted to write. But like some of my classmates who also write for the campus publication, we do not know how.
We have always heard about the Schools Press Conference where many of our schoolmates have joined. We waited anxiously for our turn. We were chosen to join the District Schools Press Conference where elementary and high school campus journalists gathered to compete in the different categories. News writing, editorial writing, feature writing, even radio reporting.
But, having had to choose from the different categories, I became even more confused. How I wish writing was as easy as sitting down and thinking about a topic.
Sitting down is the easiest part. The topic is difficult to think of because there are a lot of things we can write about except that we need to know more. Then the writing itself.
How do writers gather their thoughts and come up with articles that can interest us?
I Googled “campus journalism” and this is what I got:
Campus journalism is defined as “that enjoyable activity of the staff of the campus paper in collecting, organizing and presenting news, writing editorials, columns, features, and literary articles, taking pictures, cartooning, copy reading, proofreading, dummying & writing headlines”.
That sounds easy. But with all the categories in the press conference, we are all being prepared to compete and do our best to get into the national schools press conference.
I didn’t make it. I was among the hundreds who didn’t even make it past the district conference. I felt very bad at the time. I was looking forward to be at the regional at least, and get to meet and compete with students from outside our province.
Despite not making it to the national, I still want to write, and have been writing my thoughts in my journal even now that I’m in college.
I’m still not so confident about the topics I think of. Maybe if I keep writing. (Millene Santos)