Kitty Litter
Friday, April 29, 2005
Why Writing Is Worth It
Pardon me if I'm a bit teary-eyed as I write this. My first real fan mail, a response to my newspaper column last Wednesday, came today, and I quote the sender here (name and email omitted):
"Good day Ms. Fernandez! I was able to read your article yesterday and it was a relief that there are also people pala outside my "world" who understand and are facing the same situation. you know, i am connected in a private catholic school with a sister as my boss. i had been with them for almost four years but recently i decided to resign from my work when she told me im "antisocial". it was sad to hear it because i happen to be their social worker! i had been a private person, i am comfortable being alone but when i am required to talk infront of other people, i can manage naman. somehow, your article especially the "antisocial and unsociable" has widened my idea so i could defend myself from the "sociable one". Goodluck! thank you so much!"
I don't care if anyone thinks it's not well-written. This person read what I had to say, and found a little germ of truth which she could relate to in that column.
People have asked me why I write about everyday, even trivial things. I'd like to think that they are a real challenge for me: how do you keep someone's interest in something s/he takes for granted? You write as honestly as you can, and you write it well--something I learned from my thesis adviser Jing Hidalgo.
Columns or blog entries on "timely" things are as common as dirt; how am I supposed to beat, say, Neil Gaiman when he writes about the new Pope? When it comes to those topics, someone else is bound to have said what I want to say, and to have said it better.
If my correspondent above was moved enough to write to me...and thank me...for what I wrote, then I think I've done my job, and done it well. Nothing is better for a writer than to hear someone thank you for saying what they have always wanted to say, but can never find the words for. That's the job description.
1 Comments:
Hey Zsa Zsa, I had to remove your comment, sorry. You mentioned the name of the person whom I think "anonymous" is, and we can't very well have that person know I know, diba? Hehe.
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