Footnotes to Every Day

(Photo not mine. Credits to the owner.) I've always felt that there was something liberating about writing. The moment you translate your thoughts or feelings into written words something powerful happens, there is creation.  A writer creates and his work, his creation, takes a life of its own if it wills to. What were once thoughts in your head are now released as words on paper, open for people to read, analyze, scrutinize. They may take action or they may not. But somehow, one way or another, a reader will be affected.  Therein lies the power of writing, it elicits a consequence, which can be good or bad, depending on the intent or interpretation. Writing is an outlet, a creative expression, a powerful tool, instrument or weapon. Used in the right way, one can inspire, empower. Used in the wrong way, it can cause hurt, divisiveness, hate.  Unfortunately, these days, we see more of the later, especially on social media. There has never been a time when we have bee...

I have always loved writing. I remember back in high school dreaming of becoming a journalist and having my own newspaper column. Growing up I was inspired by the likes of Teddy Benigno, Juan Flavier, Art Borjal and Max Soliven, whose opinion columns appeared on the Philippine Star. They were legends. I wanted to be like them. They were the reason I took up Development Communication in college, where I initially majored in Journalism. I wanted to be a writer. However, I realized that I sucked at beating deadlines. So I decided to shift majors. My journalism career ended before it even began. But my passion for writing never wavered. Professionally, a huge part of my work had been writing related, although of the technical kind. I wrote technical proposals, reports, manuals, policies, training designs, organizational plans, strategy documents,  and all the other boring stuff that only a few might read. But I loved doing them nonetheless. Any form of writing, any opportunity to c...