Young Roots
Goodbyes Are Not Forever
By Johanne R. Macob
IT has been about four years since I first wrote my article for this column as a regular member of the Sunday Punch Family. Though such opportunity already came as a surprise, it came as more surprising on my part that I would end up ‘owning’ the ‘Young Roots.’ And now I am down to my last piece, at least, for the time being, for this beloved column.
I have mentioned before, it was not a dream for me to make writing a career. I used to write solely as an outlet for self-expression, for my own consumption, and, yes, for academic reasons. I never believed that my writing would be appreciated by others in any way. I do not remember telling my parents that I would like to become a journalist. Nor did I ever mention to anyone that I wanted to become a columnist. But here I am… I have happily spent my last four years writing news articles and sharing my thoughts through this section of my beloved paper.
Sometime in our lives, we get to be led on a path where we did not really plan to go. We, sometimes, lose ourselves, only to eventually find ourselves. The moment I took the job of as a correspondent, I did not know what I was getting myself into. At that moment, I just wanted a job, something I could do at the moment. I never knew then that later I would realize that this job would open my eyes to the bigger world. It has led me to learn and really knowing more about my beloved province.
Financial wise, being a newspaper correspondent doesn’t pay well, particularly, relative to other professions. Correspondents, also, do not get benefits as government workers do or regular workers in private companies do. However, being a correspondent, a reporter, means having to cover, having the privilege to witness different events and somehow know various kinds of people. I must say being a news reporter is one of the best jobs in terms of developing one’s versatility- from the travel in order to get to the scenes, to the way you develop connections and communications to other people, and to writing and beating the deadline. All the things I have learned from this four-year experience would weigh more than the paychecks I could’ve received in other employment. But just as how each and every coverage has ended and how each interview has concluded, there’s always a closing remark in every chapter of our beloved life.
As much as I want to keep on writing, one thing I have learned in journalism is that every story, as long as it has the basic ingredients, has to have an ending in order to reach the deadline and be published. One can have a follow-up story but at least at the moment, the story has to conclude since it has to be moved. Right now, I have to conclude my writing career and get moving. I might have a “follow-up story” or I might not have on this career, but wherever life leads me, I will surely carry with me all the lessons I have learned, courtesy of my beloved Sunday Punch.
Next week I will enroll in university again in pursuit of my childhood dream.
Happy Anniversary, Sunday Punch! I will always be grateful.
(Editor’s Note: Having ‘Young Roots’ regularly for the past four years served our mission to reach out to our young readers, and enable elders to understand the young. It has been a privilege having Johanne on board for as long as it lasted).
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