What Keeps Me Going
Cosmo.ph's Managing Editor Trixie talks about what makes her kilig when it comes to working for Cosmo.
Posted on December 5, 2009 12:00 am
Posted on December 5, 2009 12:00 am
The time I spent in college was pretty much divided into two: academics and work for the school paper. The very little free time this left me was spent going out with friends and having as much fun as a college student should. And if you ask me if I regret spending much of my student life working and studying instead of partying, going places, making lots of new friends (and boyfriends, haha!), and other things college folk are known to get into, I’d say I’d consider the thought, but not really.
The need to study hard is a given—I had to maintain my scholarship, or else I wouldn’t be able to afford the tuition the university I chose. But working for the school paper? That was all for passion. I really wanted to write, and to me, there simply was no other organization I wanted to be part of then (although it took me a year to muster the courage to apply for a post in the News team).
Several batches of News Editors and Staffers (I'm the second one from right--and the oldest News ed here, yikes!)
I got to thinking about these things because our school paper recently held a reunion to celebrate its 80th anniversary, and I didn’t dare miss it for the world. A lot of my best moments, both during and even after college, had a lot to do with the school paper: the best friends I made there, the most wonderful people I ever had the opportunity to work with, the training I got from having to produce a monthly paper on top of fulfilling requirements for my classes, and all the memorable anecdotes of what happened in between. It was the highlight of my college life, and ask anyone who was part of that organization, and you’re probably going to get the same response (yes, probably even Luli Arroyo, whom we spotted at the event).
It was my work for the school paper that eventually paved the way for the career I will eventually make for myself—that of being a media person. I’ve always loved writing, since I was a kid, but only in the college paper did I get the chance to see just how hard it is to churn out well-written, well-researched stories under very tight deadlines—and more importantly, learn the discipline to keep and respect them. And what I lacked in networking in general when I was in college (the time, they said, when you’re supposed to be forging all your future business/career partnerships), I more than made up for in the organization. I see so many of my former orgmates in the industry now, and it’s always such a pleasure to get a chance to work with them again.
Some of the best people I've worked with in the school paper, who tirelessly did their jobs without complaining and to the best of their abilities. I'm so blessed to have had the chance to work with them--and to still have them as such great friends!
For those like me whose life-long dream is to make a significant mark in this world, working in media allows this dream to be fulfilled little by little—one word at a time, one story at a time, one publication at a time, be it in print or online. Back in college, the news stories and opinion columns we churned out became part of our university’s history, now immortalized in the university archives—joining the works of all the great editors and writers who came before us and who later on carved their own bylines in national or even international history. I’m trying to do the same in Cosmo’s history, even in my little way, in the magazine that fueled my desire to work for a brand that aims to help women become fun, fearless females and, simply, the best they can be.
At the end of the day, this is really the thing that keeps me going—even when things become insanely difficult and challenging, even when people or events try to get in the way of my dreams.
I want to end this blog with an anecdote that got me super kilig recently. I went to the On Fire retreat again, this time as part of the team that served that weekend to the new batch of participants. It was where I met a couple of participants who told me, on separate occasions, that they actually discovered On Fire after reading my blog post here. They said they found the post inspiring, which then drove them to participate in the retreat as well, and now, they’re reaping the benefits of the experience as I have been.
Nothing could be more satisfying, more fulfilling to a writer, than knowing that someway, somehow, her work has affected or helped someone’s life—no matter how big or small of an impact it had.
P.S. Next On Fire weekend is in February, after Valentine's Day. If you’re interested, check out the contact info at the bottom of this post.
The need to study hard is a given—I had to maintain my scholarship, or else I wouldn’t be able to afford the tuition the university I chose. But working for the school paper? That was all for passion. I really wanted to write, and to me, there simply was no other organization I wanted to be part of then (although it took me a year to muster the courage to apply for a post in the News team).
Several batches of News Editors and Staffers (I'm the second one from right--and the oldest News ed here, yikes!)
I got to thinking about these things because our school paper recently held a reunion to celebrate its 80th anniversary, and I didn’t dare miss it for the world. A lot of my best moments, both during and even after college, had a lot to do with the school paper: the best friends I made there, the most wonderful people I ever had the opportunity to work with, the training I got from having to produce a monthly paper on top of fulfilling requirements for my classes, and all the memorable anecdotes of what happened in between. It was the highlight of my college life, and ask anyone who was part of that organization, and you’re probably going to get the same response (yes, probably even Luli Arroyo, whom we spotted at the event).
It was my work for the school paper that eventually paved the way for the career I will eventually make for myself—that of being a media person. I’ve always loved writing, since I was a kid, but only in the college paper did I get the chance to see just how hard it is to churn out well-written, well-researched stories under very tight deadlines—and more importantly, learn the discipline to keep and respect them. And what I lacked in networking in general when I was in college (the time, they said, when you’re supposed to be forging all your future business/career partnerships), I more than made up for in the organization. I see so many of my former orgmates in the industry now, and it’s always such a pleasure to get a chance to work with them again.
Some of the best people I've worked with in the school paper, who tirelessly did their jobs without complaining and to the best of their abilities. I'm so blessed to have had the chance to work with them--and to still have them as such great friends!
For those like me whose life-long dream is to make a significant mark in this world, working in media allows this dream to be fulfilled little by little—one word at a time, one story at a time, one publication at a time, be it in print or online. Back in college, the news stories and opinion columns we churned out became part of our university’s history, now immortalized in the university archives—joining the works of all the great editors and writers who came before us and who later on carved their own bylines in national or even international history. I’m trying to do the same in Cosmo’s history, even in my little way, in the magazine that fueled my desire to work for a brand that aims to help women become fun, fearless females and, simply, the best they can be.
At the end of the day, this is really the thing that keeps me going—even when things become insanely difficult and challenging, even when people or events try to get in the way of my dreams.
I want to end this blog with an anecdote that got me super kilig recently. I went to the On Fire retreat again, this time as part of the team that served that weekend to the new batch of participants. It was where I met a couple of participants who told me, on separate occasions, that they actually discovered On Fire after reading my blog post here. They said they found the post inspiring, which then drove them to participate in the retreat as well, and now, they’re reaping the benefits of the experience as I have been.
Nothing could be more satisfying, more fulfilling to a writer, than knowing that someway, somehow, her work has affected or helped someone’s life—no matter how big or small of an impact it had.
P.S. Next On Fire weekend is in February, after Valentine's Day. If you’re interested, check out the contact info at the bottom of this post.
Tags: career,college,writing,dreams,retreat,college life,school organization,school paper,reunions,passions,affecting other people
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