Why Journalism?

Since I entered college, many have asked, “Why did you choose Journalism?”

Oh well, great things start in unexpected places just like what happened to me on my sophomore year in high school.

Way back 2009, I should have joined the school’s broadcasting team for the District Press Conference. But organizers said that there should only be a group of seven, while my publication adviser prepared eight students for that. Since there was an excess in the team, Miss A eventually called me. She handed to me that green book about “Campus Journalism”. She said that I would still join the contest but in a different category. Bye bye microphone for radio broadcasting. Fate prepared something for me then.

When I got home, I studied a chapter from that book. Guess what was it all about? Sports! Yes, sports. I was hesitant to accept this opportunity at first because I didn’t know much about sports back then and it wasn’t my forte. I watched basketball games on television just for fun and never did I try to write about it. Still, I gave it a shot and considered this break as a challenge. I had to leave my comfort zone since I was trained first in news writing. But big thanks to Miss A for believing in me. She is the reason why I am here right now, writing despite the struggles.

Contest day came. I entered a classroom for the Sports Writing in Filipino category. I still remember that there were five participants including yours truly and I was the only girl inside the four walls of that room. Okay! Most of the boys would always like sports, I guess. I won’t even bargain or argue about that.

The butterflies in my stomach never left me that time. That instance was indeed a first time, a first time that would never be forgotten and a first time that marked the beginning of everything. The proctor then arrived. She distributed the fact sheet, the fact sheet wherein we based our stories, the fact sheet that talked about boxing wherein the Filipino boxer Marvin Sonsona won, and the fact sheet that made me realize that sports has a role to play in my existence here on earth. I didn’t expect to win. Why should I? But God blessed me with more than I deserved for He awarded me with a silver.

After that window opened, I fell in love with sports and I pursued my sports writing call. “Journalism- this is a vocation, this is a calling,” said Sir Francis Ochoa (2013). Life got tougher and tougher after all. My perseverance in the field was severely tested many times but never did I give up. I learned to stand up all over again after facing each and every failure.

Like anyone else, as a graduating student in high school, I was confused in choosing the course I wanted to take in college. Back then, I loved both English and Math. I tried to search for a program where these two can blend together but unfortunately, there was none. I had to make a decision, a game changing one. Writing overpowered arithmetic. I chose AB Journalism among others.

Hello college! Hello University of Santo Tomas. Hello Faculty of Arts and Letters! Hello 1JRN3! College definitely marked my independent life, a life away from home, from family, and from high school friends. It opened me to new possibilities of success, love, failure, and disappointments. Nevertheless, it strengthened my faith and taught me to persevere no matter how tough and rough the road would be. College is fun, just be careful with the puns.

In my two years as a Journalism student, my answer to the question above was “I want to be a sports writer.” I realized, being a journalist is not just being a writer but it’s more of a being a truth seeker. Journalism and sensationalism would never go together. It’s always better to search for the truth rather than to value market. Oh market, market just distorts and definitely knows how to filter the facts. That’s the power of market in field of media.

As an incoming junior, I would always remember what our professor in News Writing I told us to seek the truth and nothing but the truth no matter how much the price is. We don’t write for the media companies after we earn our diplomas but we do for the people. To let them know the truth is our primary duty because when we write, our integrity and credibility are always on the line. These two are not given, they are earned after every article becomes bloody as hell but gets published eventually.

And fairness is a principle to be practiced. There’s no such thing as unbiased journalism because at one point or another, we express our own opinion and we don’t expect to have similar views in life, right, but we should be fair enough to tell the two faces of the story. It’s just a matter of transparency and accuracy. Thou shall not be blinded by any circumstance. We really have to see what is beyond.

At the end of the day, no matter how hard it is to be a journalist, I will never give up and I will persevere instead. Giving up would never be my option because journalism is what I chose and this is what I love the most. ❤