Pursuing Your Passion
I started writing poetry in high school. Rhyme and meter – they were challenging yet relatively easy for me to achieve. I thought it’s all that mattered. So I’d just write non-stop about different things – from nature to family to friendship and even young love. I even had a personalized notebook where I wrote all my poems in perfect handwriting. But after quite some time, I got busy with schoolwork and my notebook of poems was covered with dust and was left untouched.
In college, I tried writing prose. Being an English major, I was exposed to more types of writings – academic reports, reaction papers, letters, short stories, even scriptwriting. However, coming from a relatively small private high school, college was a shock for me. My classmates were all good, some even exceptional. I realized how limited my knowledge of words was. I did not have a distinct writing style. I was not creative enough. My insecurities got the best of me, so every time I’d write something, it was all for the sake of meeting the requirements. My works, I believed, were mediocre.
When I started working, I tried to write again – free verse poems, short essays, Facebook notes, long statuses, even short blogs in Multiply and Tumblr. Sadly, I was unable to write regularly and consistently. I had a lot of excuses – I’m too busy. I have more important things to do.
THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD WRITERS OUT THERE.
        I’M NOT PLANNING TO MAKE A LIVING OUT OF THIS.
                NO ONE WOULD READ MY WORKS ANYWAY.
                        WHY AM I EVEN WRITING?
                                I. AM. NOT GOOD. AT. ALL.
Do you know why a lot of people fail and are unhappy? Three things – EXCUSES. FEARS. INSECURITIES. These three things are not entirely bad, but if we let them run our lives, that’s when the problem begins. And I let the unfortunate thing happen to me. I stopped writing because I said I didn’t have time. I stopped writing because I was afraid to be criticized and because I told myself that I was not good enough. I stopped writing because whenever I’d chance upon a good article, I’d tell myself that it was SO GOOD and that I could not write something close to it. EXCUSES. FEARS. INSECURITIES.
Fast forward to May 3, 2015. As Bro. Bo Sanchez wrapped up The Feast PICC’s X-Factor series, he reminded everyone that gifts and talents should be DISCOVERED, DEVELOPED, and DELIVERED. He also emphasized that these three things are not sequential but parallel, and it made a lot of sense to me. A long time ago, I discovered writing, but I was unable to develop it because I stopped using and delivering it.
And so, inspired and motivated to maximize, improve on, and eventually share my gift, I have decided to write again. How will it be different from my previous attempts? This time, I know that I’ll be writing with a purpose – and that is to utilize the gift given to me by God. A gift which I claim and believe that He will use, through me, to (hopefully) inspire and touch the hearts of others. A gift that I now aim to use to help other know Him more and draw them closer to Him.
What about you? What’s your gift? Are you making a good use of it? Are you using it for His glory?
