#2: Nourishing the Mind and Expressing One’s Soul

We cannot deny the fact that reading and writing are essential tools to survive in life’s journey. Illiteracy would have been a really big problem had it been prevalent in today’s society. I believe that is why we should learn to read and write whether we like it or not, but being good in both disciplines would impose a big challenge for us.

I would like to share to you my reading and writing journey.

I started to read “seriously” when I was in sixth grade, when our school principal encouraged us to read and collect Nancy Drew books. Because I cannot afford to collect the 50+ volumes of the said mystery series, I just borrowed from my classmate who has already collected the series. I believe that those were the times when I started to love reading and make it my pastime, especially those of the mystery genre. It also triggered my “book hunting bonanza” in our elementary school library. I frequently visited that place, and there, I read other types of reading materials such as encyclopedias, Greek myths and legends, almanacs, and some old pocketbooks.

I started exploring other book genres during our summer 2007 vacation. I borrowed some books from my godmother because aside from the fact that her books were unread for how many years now, there were lots of genres that I could choose from. The first book that I borrowed from her was “Family Secrets” by Patti Davis (Ronald Reagan’s daughter), who unveiled the life of the Reagan family behind the political curtain, her life as the family “black sheep”, and her addiction to drugs and even sex. That book triggered my interest on autobiographies as well as biographies.

I brought that habit with me when I entered high school. In my freshman year, I borrowed a lot of books from the library, most of them pocketbooks. Good thing my friends are also bookworms. They sort of influenced me a lot. But then I do admit that my reading habit declined as I moved into another year. I borrowed fewer books as I go up into another year because of my hectic schedule.

I also started writing when I was in sixth grade, when our English teacher required us to keep a diary. At that period of time, I did not embrace writing yet. It was when I reached my sophomore year in high school when I turned to writing as my consolation. I was considered “the weird one” that time because I’m usually silent and alone. Some people used to bully me because of that. It was at that time that I wrote a lot because it was only with writing that I could express my anger and my hatred towards them.

 I did not write about anger and hatred that much anymore when I reached my junior and senior years in high school. Because I gained a lot of friends, I wrote happy experiences and even secret, unsent letters to my crush (and some of those are still with me!). In fact, when I reached my senior year, I became the assistant editor for the literary (panitikan) section of our school newspaper, Ang Agong (the Filipino volume), and one of the contributors in The Agong (the English volume).

I believe that reading and writing are mutually exclusive, meaning they complement each other. Without batting my eyelashes, I love both disciplines. If I am to evaluate myself when it comes to writing, I can say that I am better when I write to express myself compared to writing to judge, review, or evaluate a specific thing, such as a book or a movie.

When it comes to reading, I tend to be choosy with the kind of reading materials that I read. I tend to choose autobiographies, mystery fictions, fashion and inspirational magazines like Kerygma; I will most likely put down the rest of the genre. In other words, I tend to be a bit closed-minded when it comes to selecting materials to read.

My reading and writing history has been on a quite long journey with lots of transitions, explorations, and sacrifices. I believe that my reading and writing has really developed over the years, and I still plan to continue doing it. 


The question is, "I am a good reader or writer?" Honestly speaking, I want someone else to answer that for me, but then the situation demands my personal opinion. Well, I am confident that I have developed my skills in both disciplines over a period of time, but I think I am not good enough yet. I believe that I still have more things to explore. In order for me to be called an accomplished reader or writer, I have to continually develop my skills in both of those and I have to yet experience lots of things for me to relate to what I read and to be more inspired to whatever things that I’ll write. Though I’m already a young adult, my skills are yet to be nourished more and continually molded at its best.


Thank you for taking your time reading my long blog! Haha!