How the Artist in Me Was Born

Being a self-proclaimed artist, allow me to label myself as an art enthusiast. But before anything else, let me tell you a fragment of the story of my life so you’ll know how I became an artist.

I was an only child of a very hardworking pair of power couple who were overachievers on their own right. Since they [my parents] both had to have a job so they could provide me a comfortable life, I ended up ushering myself to school activities where both, if not, one of them should have been there to support me. Nevertheless, I didn’t feel pity at all because I understood why it was impossible for them to show up on an activity that didn’t exactly need their immediate attention. As a result, I became independent.

My parents introduced me to books and reading materials at a very early age. They encouraged me to do a lot of reading and comprehension while waiting for them to come home from work. It didn't take long till I grew fond of reading [it reached to a point that I couldn't sleep without a book on my bed]. No, I was not the school smart kid type. Neither did I even have any study habit. I was and I still think I am the laziest person I know when it comes to studying. However, I have found that I was fond of reading a dictionary when I was 8. I remember that I could read my aunt's college medical textbooks and understood well what it was about. Of course, there were many new words that I’d come across but since I knew how to use a dictionary and a glossary, I never found it difficult to understand what a particular context would mean.

Over the years, I started to write poems and essays. Aside from reading, writing became my avenue of expressing my thoughts and feelings. But I never became a writing superstar. I always treated my writings and scribbles as written personal thoughts.

Back to being an artist, as a writer and a lover of arts, I find it very difficult to stand for something I personally do not believe in. High paying job offers came in several times but the moment I’d find out that I would have to set aside my principles to earn money, I just say, “No, thank you.”

I mentioned earlier that I am an art enthusiast. Though I am not exactly a lover of all types of arts, I could very well say that I do have an eye and passion for the kind of arts that I am most passionate about. What are those? I’ll tell you on my next blog.

For many years now, along with my friends who are also passionate about arts, I have been a part of a talent-builder organization called Cagayan de Oro Talent Center. We facilitate workshop and trainings on dancing, hosting, modelling, singing amongst many more for Kagay- anon neophytes. Follow me on Twitter or you may like our Facebook page for your queries. J