I am happy. Simply happy that I get to make people smile the
way other people do to me.
Sometimes I ask myself if I am still normal. I laugh, I
giggle, I cry, I get hurt, I fall in love over and over again but not with
another person, instead with characters or stories that either I watched or
read.
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| Photo credit to sacenatividad.tumblr.com |
What I have instead is a laptop, an old one, and a not so fast
Wi-fi connection that accompany me every day at home.
However, this reality does not bother me. Most of my days are
spent writing a story, a Tagalog one. I recently ventured into fictional
writing. I was worried at first that no one will get to read and appreciate my
work.
The first story I published in a social media site called
Wattpad was a 42-part fanfiction characterized by young volleyball players Vic Galang
ang Bang Pineda. It was a love story between two girls who fell in love with
each other.
I wasn’t a fan of La Salle Lady Spikers at first, although I
would not deny that I appreciate their great spiking and digging abilities.
Because for the longest time, I was a big Ateneo fan, particularly the so-called
the fabulous five – Angeline “Dzi” Gervacio, Fille Saint Merced Cainglet,
Gretchen Ho, Jamenea “Jem” Ferrer and Ace Nakachi.
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| Photo credit to tritontv.com |
Being a former athlete, I was saddened by the fact that a
good athlete whom I also admire not only for her good looks and exceptional
volleyball skills, but also because of her humility, was badly hurt and will
not be able to play the most important part of the collegiate league’s UAAP.
I turned to Tweeter and Facebook for regular updates. Then suddenly
I came across a message hinting there was a romance going on between Galang of
the DLSU and the former Lady Falcon open hitter Sheila Pineda, known to many
fans of volleyball these days as Bang.
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| Photo credit to spin.ph |
It came as a big surprise to me, being a “les” or a “shib.” Both girls are beautiful and talented in terms of volleyball
and there was not a single hint that they have a special relationship.
Then one day, I found myself reading Wattpad stories about
Mika Reyes, Kim Fajardo, Ara or Vic Galang and Bang Pineda. Don’t ask me how
many fanfiction stories I have read, because I already lost count, probably
close to 200. At first I just want to get to know them better as a player and
as person since most stories were lifted from the players’ social media
accounts, or what volleyball fans witnessed when they watched live in the Flying
V Arena.
After reading a lot of stories, later this July, I started
my own version of fanfiction. The first three days were a struggle. No one seemed
to care, but a week after I was surprised when I checked my Wattpad account and
there were votes indicating I now have readers. Then one by one, comments were
left at the message box asking for a faster update.
Shortly before my third week into fanfiction writing, I
decided to end the story the way I wanted it to, but then I started to get
clarifications and complaints from my readers saying the story should end with
Bang and Ara or Vic. I have no other choice but to adhere to their clamor.
A week before my birthday the story was finished with over
800 reads and less than a hundred votes and lots of comments. Now as I continue
to open my account to update my second story, I can’t help but smile and get
amazed by the growing readership, as of the latest my first story has 2,100
readers and 135 votes and 46 comments.
I was not paid, no money involved, not even a possible
income to look forward to in this
kind of writing. It’s just the fondness of
writing and having that youthful feeling again that motivate me to go on, plus
the fact that it gives me joy and pleasure that I get to share what I am
capable of … sharing life, it’s mysteries and challenges. So many untold
stories from each and every one of us that are sometimes forgotten or are left
untold for reasons we cannot explain.
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| Photo credit to rappler.com |
To sum it all up… I just want to say I am truly happy and we can share our happiness to other people too.