Late bloomer

My normal eight-hour workday involves writing with languages that I am sure the majority on the planet do not understand. Yes, I am a computer programmer, and I am proud of it. I code, but documenting customer requirements, design specifications and user manuals also come with the job. But at the end of the day, to take my mind off solving business and analytical problems, I resort to writing—sportswriting to be exact.

The fact is, my relationship with words, sentences and paragraphs only blossomed during my late teenage years. Playing and watching games and sport events throughout my growing-up years, I was a sports fan first, before becoming a sportswriter.

During my elementary days, my school had a typewriting elective, reserved only for qualified students. I was neither interested nor tried to qualify. I could not see myself as good enough to join that group punching keyboard letters onto a sheet of paper using an old-school typewriter.

In both the primary and secondary levels, I could not even imagine getting into the school paper that I normally associated with smarter, more serious, and more driven classmates. The notion of a tall, lanky, but unopinionated teenager as an editor or staff writer never entered by mind at all.

Worse, our English teachers would ask us to compose theme papers—written requirements that had relevant but borderline-boring topics. Subjects like describing yourself or current sociopolitical issues seemed very daunting in those times.

You can imagine the hassle. In those days, writing a theme paper literally meant putting lead or ink on a sheet. Better be sure about what you are going to write because once you write a word down using a pen, there are no backspace or delete keys to press. Think of what we could have produced with the convenience of today’s word processor applications or Internet blog portals.

Compared to the naive and PR treatment of topics in high school newspapers, writing for a college paper was another level. During the college orientation, incoming freshmen were advised to join clubs and groups to foster shared interests and expand one’s network of friends. With that in mind, I joined my college’s professional organization, and nothing else. My introduction to campus journalism was a chance encounter at best. I was not looking to write, but sportswriting was actually the one looking for me. After going through the rigors of applying, the rest, as they say, was history.

As a staff member, I got to go to different venues, interview personalities, and sometimes witness a piece of sporting history. The fact that I had to write using the Filipino language did not pose a hindrance to composing articles and columns. The native tongue definitely has colorful terms and jargon to describe every shot, spike, throw, or move.

It wasn’t until college that I realized that I love writing, and that writing loves me back. But as much as graduates want to make writing a profession, one would have to endure sacrifice and low pay to become a professional writer. Campus journalism actually took a back seat to thesis-writing during my last year in the university.

Eventually, writing took a back seat upon graduation. Sure, I was still watching and rooting for my alma mater, but only through the eyes of an ardent fan and supporter, nothing more. The only “connection” I had to sportswriting was when I was invited to be guest speaker on two different occasions.

For close to a decade, the only pieces of work that had my byline were in source codes and log messages for various software and projects that I was working on.

It wasn’t until July 2013 that I started a blog to somehow rekindle my relationship with writing. It was a personal blog primarily focused on reviewing food and gadgets and documenting travels and sport events. There is nothing like the thrill of random strangers liking, following and commenting on various posts. The fact that people all over the world were reading my literary output meant that somehow I was connecting with them.

I would sometimes blurt out that after hitting a certain number of posts and views, I would try my luck with an organization that has a wider platform, bigger reach and more prestige than a personal blog.

Lo and behold, an “independent online sports media group that covers the varsity teams” of my alma mater posted an open call for writers during the summer of 2014. The audition definitely called my attention. If I recall right, I saw the post on Facebook on the last day that the group was accepting applicants. Talk about timing.

It was good that I was maintaining a blog as my interviewer and now unofficial boss asked for my portfolio. The fact that the work is pro bono doesn’t really bother me. The sheer love for the school and for the games makes all the effort and time spent worth it. There are no perks like press passes, credentials, or free tickets, just the promise that your work will get published with your name on the byline.

Eight articles in, there were certainly games and instances when I felt that all my creative juices had dried up, that I had come up against the so-called writer’s block.

There definitely is an art to writing. The more I write, the more I realize that I share not only my thoughts, analyses and opinions but also my experiences, influences and personality. Aside from sporting jargon, I try to keep my work fresh by incorporating my other interests such as the Philippine economy and businesses, Hollywood movies, Western culture, and styles from other writers.

I actually wondered why none of my high school classmates who were part of the school paper continued the craft during their college years, or why some friends who were communication graduates actually never liked writing. Then again, writing is not for everyone.

There will be more games left for me to cover and write analyses about. Writing each and every piece will be challenging, but nothing worth doing is ever easy. It took me a while to realize it, but I have found my passion and I have heard my calling.

Discovering one’s passion and love can come as naturally to some as it does accidentally to others. It can be as simple as singing or baking, and as complex as strategic corporate marketing.

Do not fret if you still haven’t found your calling. Maybe it still hasn’t found you.

Stanley Baldwin O. See, 29, is with Java Developer, Fujitsu Philippines Inc.