Blur

I only read The Daily Inquirer for one main reason: Young Blood. Ever since I was this oblivious girl in elementary, I have always loved reading Young Blood articles. I never fully understood most of them back then, but the use of words and the sentence structures of every article impressed me. Young Blood articles convinced me into wanting to be a writer.

So here I am, trying oh so hard to fulfill that dream. And I am not going to lie, it is very difficult. Wanting to be a writer in this mathematically and technologically inclined generation makes it very hard for me to accept comments like, "You wouldn't garner any money when you take up writing as your passion and profession". I know what I got into, I knew it from the very start. I always knew that people who turn their passion for literature into a profession almost never get into really big jobs. I've seen it in real life, I've seen it happen.

I must admit, those courses which promise a stable future can be really tempting. But giving in to those temptations will be useless for me because I do not have the skill nor the talents to even survive in those courses. I only know how to write, and that's what I want to do. 

Young Blood saved me again. Just when I felt like throwing my dreams off a cliff, another Young Blood article enlightened me. The article's entitled as "Why Literature?" 

Link over here: http://opinion.inquirer.net/45641/why-literature

Young Blood articles are almost always about young people's passion for literature, books and writing. I love how they write about their everyday struggles in being a lover of words. Usually people think that engineering students (etc) carry all the weight in the world, but they actually don't. They always get positive comments like, "You can do it! All those hardships and sleepless nights will all be worth it in the end."  and in reality, those comments almost always come true. 

In reading so much Young Blood articles and in meeting so many passionate literature students, I can now assume that they struggle a lot, too. Mentally, physically and also emotionally. Mentally because writing is tough work, once you're out of brain juice when writing a 500-page paper due tomorrow, you have no more alternatives. Physically, because hello, writers get sleepless nights, too. Mostly because of an intriguing book or a triggered thought that you can't seem to stop thinking about. And emotionally because they always hear people say "Why literature? There's no future there." and what's utterly damaging and heartbreaking is that it's almost always true. 

I admire the people who take up a course because it's what they are really passionate about. I salute people who are brave, because I am never going to be as brave as them. Taking up something that won't assure happiness in the future is a courageous act. But what is happiness when you're not doing something you actually love?

I'm still waiting for a sign to really take up literature in college, but I think my inability to do math and my limited knowledge about computers and technology is already a good enough sign for me to take up literature. I'm not looking back. I've closed all pathways and ignored other options, now I've only got one road ahead of me, and this time, I know what's on the other side. And I'm ready. This is going to be my first ever leap of faith.