As an aspiring writer, I’ve always been touched by the word “writing.” For me, it is not as simple as having pen and paper on hand. Writing means life for me. It is about how you widen your imagination to create an incredible story, poem, or essay. The mind is not the only thing that should work when you are writing. The heart and soul must be there to complete the sense of what you are creating. As has been said, if you’re not in the mood to write, you can’t write, or you can’t write beautifully. Writing needs inspiration. And in writing, you’re not supposed to be the only one that should be inspired. When you write, be sure to inspire your readers as well.
In writing, you should also think of smooth flow and organization. Writing is, after all, like life: People always think of what they will do the next day. But they forget to ask themselves: “What if the next day is my last day?”
It may sound negative, but then that’s life: It will always have its end. I admit that I was one of those who thought only of the best thing to do tomorrow and the next day. But since I started going to college, I have been thinking more deeply about death.
Back in my high school days, one of my teachers said, “Every day, be ready to die.” I didn’t know what she meant at that time, and I had always wondered how she could say that. Why was she so ready to die? Many people ask for a long life; why not her?
It was after several years that I found the answer to that question. My teacher is ready to die because she knows what she wants to do in her life, and every day she’s doing the thing(s) she needs to do. So that if ever it’s her last day on Earth, there’s nothing for her to regret.
Inspired by that, I started to write every day. Whatever comes to my mind, I write it. In the end, I will never be afraid to die because I am doing what I really want to do. If there’s one thing that I want to do before I die, it is to write until I run out of air.
And I keep telling myself: “Write as if it’s your last day!”
Jonnierene P. Placio, 19, is a third year communication and media studies student at the University of the Philippines Visayas-Miagao.