AMAZINGLY, “Meet Omar, our gardener” (Woman Lens, 01/22/21) was well-read and well-liked! How delightful! So, people love a human-interest story after all. A story they can relate with, a story so real and so true! That’s very refreshing. We will be guided by that.
January is about to end and so far, I have both good news and bad. The good news, I am returning to grad school. I went on an official 1-year leave of absence to rest after a grueling 1st semester where I entertained thoughts of quitting, oh yes, I did! and with COVID-19 inflicting terror plus the accompanying stress it imposed on humanity early last year, my decision to go on leave proved wise and providential. Well, that’s my personal take, haha.
Majority of my classmates are probably about to finish the core subjects this semester having continued despite the pandemic but at my age, hey, there’s no rush. Easy breezy. There’s no competition. Not that I am not competitive, I am! But given the age gap, I am comfortable keeping my own pace. I’ve been there; done that.
The bad news, it seems the chances of visiting Bohol are getting slimmer. The restrictions are still there. I am hoping though that the vaccination program of government will start this quarter. By then, perhaps, hopefully, travel restrictions will be eased. And I can travel to my beloved home province.
Truly, this global disease is a bummer. Plans are altered, delayed, or altogether scrapped. We can only sigh in resignation.
In the meantime, I will just focus on school. Once again, it will require readings, research, and more research. It’s daunting, haha! But I love going to school so I will suffer it.
Momentarily also, I will continue to look for and serve my clientele who, because of the pandemic, are observing economic measures and rightly so, but to my disadvantage. A professional like me needs clients. Like I said, COVID-19 is a bummer!
But in keeping with the attitude of gratitude, we thank God for life, health, family, and resources. Resources are tight but the basics are met. So, we thank God.
Last year, at the height of the ECQ, I was invited to co-host a public affairs radio program in Tagbilaran, my birth city, in the beautiful island-province of Bohol. A very pleasant development indeed!
Of course, I continue to write for Panay News. Something I am genuinely happy about. You see, writing is a passion and for the longest time, column-writing is a favorite, influenced by my father again, haha, and the many brilliant columnists published in national newspapers that I started to read and follow since I was 22! Yes, that long!
Oh yes, I have read them faithfully daily since I was 22. I even bought a book of the compiled stories of one column writer and gave the same to my father as a gift one Christmas while I was still serving the National Power Corporation-Visayas Regional Center in Cebu City. My, my! Memories huh!
Naturally, as you read their stories regularly, you will learn their styles, quirks, and techniques.
So, when I started writing a column in August 2000 for two local papers in General Santos City, I already knew how to present my column. It’s evolving, of course, through the years. Special thanks to my good friend, kindred spirit, the late John Paul Jubelag for allowing me to write in their family paper back in the day.
Now back to school. I encourage young people, my millennial kids included, to go back to school. Oh yes, nothing beats added learning. If your resources permit it, go! Enroll in short courses, diploma courses, special courses, grad school, or even law school. After all, it’s nearly all online classes now, hence, if you have the facility of a reliable internet connection, and most millennials have laptops by the way, going to school isn’t that difficult anymore. You can maximize your time by studying.
Let me qualify that by saying, if resources permit. If not, then don’t push the issue. There’s always another time.
So back to Bohol, my plan to travel stays, haha! After all, hope springs eternal.
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Writer can be reached at belindabelsales@gmail.com. Twitter @ShilohRuthie./PN
