PODCAST EP 3: Absorb then Release

Collaborative work of Andrei Apelo, Nicole Anacay, Jaslynne Giron, and Ynigo Panghulan as a course requirement for DEVC11 Weekly Writes.

What do I think about it?

Over the past few weeks it has been a tough ride yet somehow fulfilling in a way, I entered Development Communication with little to no idea on what it is all about except the words “development” and “communication.” One task that we need to do is to create a devcom story which will test if we do apply the learnings as well as a training to become a media writer in the future. 

So far the lessons were much about the construction of the story from having a devcom topic to gathering of data up until the interview. We are introduced to the three different methods of data gathering: observation, retrieval, and interview. All of these are useful and have their own strengths, let us first talk about observation. There may not be that much to observe now that we are bound in an online set-up, my topic which focuses on working students did not really rely on observing since I did not have the chance to go to a place where they work or observe them on their lifestyle. Observation may provide an initial input for information but I did not observe that much when conducting my study. Next would be the retrieval, this is the usual way of gathering data. During my junior years in high school, I learned to search for back up information when doing research in general, I have learned how to access different websites and look for appropriate information that I needed, I have also acquired the skill of retrieving information online and I must say it is practical to do in my current devcom story. Lastly, the interview which I think is the most appropriate to identify on how I do my devcom story.

I have interviewed working students online and learned their life as a part-timer. Interviewing allows me to better and deeper understand a certain topic that I cannot find even if I work hard to search it on the internet. The life of every person is diverse and it is fascinating to learn their story by interviewing.

Throughout the time that I have spent in data gathering, I have learned that there are ways to get things done even if I work alone, it is still possible to act alone. I have always been scared of making things on my own even if I prefer it because I tend to question myself every time if I am doing it right, being here as a devcom student, teaches me to believe in myself and in my capabilities and now I can see that i am improving because despite the struggles of doing this task, I can still do it and I am still learning. 

Balita lang din naman ‘yan

Noong una kong narinig ang “development-oriented news story” nagtaka ako kasi ang alam ko lang ay balita, so bakit may development-oriented news story kung same lang naman sila ng goal which is to inform. Hindi ko magets kung ano ang pinagkaiba ng development-oriented news story sa ordinaryong balita o pareho lang ba sila at branch lang ng balita ang development-oriented news story. Naghanap ako ng mga kasagutan at napagtanto ko na ang development-oriented news story ay balita na nakasentro sa development. Ang development ay pagbabago na patungo sa kabutihan ng isang lugar ngunit, dapat ito rin ay nakaayon para sa mga tao lalong lalo na sa mga mahihirap. Kadalasan, walang boses ang mga mahihirap at hindi nila kayang ipaglaban ang kanilang mga sarili kung kaya’t, ang development-oriented news story ang kaagapay nila upang ipaalam ang sitwasyon nila. Kumpara sa development-oriented news story, ang ordinaryong balita ay basta lang mag kwento ng isang kaganapang hindi nakaugnay sa pag-unlad at kabuhayan ng mga mahihirap.

Nung nalaman ko ang mga ito, muli nanaman akong nahirapan dahil hindi ko alam kung anong development-oriented news story ang makikita sa komunidad ko. Nag tanong-tanong ako sa mga kaibigan ko, nanaliksik, at kung ano ano pa ngunit, wala akong ideya kung ano ang maaari kong talakayin na paksa. “Para sa tao”, naisip ko na dahil sa komunidad naman namin at mula noon, dito na ako nakatira, balikan ko kaya ang mga karanasan ko at baka may development-oriented news story ako na naranasan na p’wedeng talakayin. May tatlo akong nabuo pero ang pinaka nagustuhan ko ay ang tungkol sa Rabies disease. Mayroon kaming mga aso at ilang beses na rin ako nabakunahan dahil, minsan, nakakagat o kaya nakakalmot ako ng mga aso namin. Tuwing nasa health center ako, napapansin ko na madalas, ito ay puno kahit umaga pa lamang. Nagtaka ako bakit tuwing pupunta na lamang ako, eh laging madaming tao kaya inalala ko yung mga panahong nag c-commute ako papasok sa school at napapansin ko na maraming aso ang nakakalat sa kapaligiran. Inobserbahan ko ang mga maaaring dahilan kung bakit laganap ang nagpapabakuna. Either madaming aso ang nakakalat o kaya hindi alam ng mga tao ang panganib na dala ng Rabies disease kaya hindi sila nagiging alerto kapag may mga hayop.

Upang magawan ito ng news story, kailangang mag interview at mag crowdsource. Kabadong-kabado talaga ako sa pakikipanayam kasi hindi ko pa naranasan mag interview online lalong lalo na’t opisyal pa ng pamahalaan. Maaga akong nag nagpadala ng sulat upang maproseso na nila ngunit, makalipas ang isang buwan, wala pa rin silang tugon. Naghanap na lamang ako ng ibang i-interviewhin at buti na lang, mayroon kaming kakilala na veterinarian. Nag chat kami sa messenger at pumayag naman siya. Nung ginaganap na ang panayam, nawala na ang aking kaba at mabisa ko ng nasabi ang mga katanungan. Mabilis niya nasagot ang mga katanungan at sa huli, nagpasalamat na ako. Ang iba niyang mga sinabi ay hindi nababasa sa mga libro kaya napagtanto ko na importante talaga na kumuha ng impormasyon mula sa taong nakakaranas nung pagsasanay.

Para naman sa crowdsourcing, nahihiya ako mag post sa aking social media kasi hindi naman ako nag p-post. Pero upang magkaroon ng dagdag kaalaman, sumali ako sa groups at pages upang ibahagi doon ang aking post. Pagkatapos ng ilang oras, may mga sumagot na at hindi ko inakalang makikipag-ugnayan sila. Iba’t ibang uri ng karanasan ang mga natanggap ko at upang mahingi ang pahintulot nila na gagamitin ko ang mga impormasyong binigay nila, nagsama ako ng google link upang kanilang ilagay na pumapayag sila na gagamitin ko ang mga ito. Nagsagot din ang mga kaibigan ko at kahit nasa iisang komunidad lang kami, magkaiba parin kami ng kaalaman.

Para sa secondary source of information, ginamit ko ang OpenAthens at sobrang nakatulong ito sa akin. Naghanap ako sa Google at Google Scholar ng mga artikulo patungkol sa paksa ko ngunit lahat ay lipas na sa panahon o kaya pare-pareho lang ng impormasyon. Kapag sa OpenAthens, p’wede ka mamili ng panahon kaya ang iba ay kamakailan lang ginawa at paiba-iba sila ng inaatake na paksa kaya bawat komunidad ay iba ang resulta. Mapagkakatiwalaan din ang mga sumulat sa paksa dahil ang mga impormasyon nila ay nakikita mo rin. Nagbasa rin ako tungkol sa mga nagawa nila kaya nakakuha ako ng ibang impormasyon na maaaring ilagay sa balita ko. Hindi ka magsasawa mag basa at makakakuha ka talaga ng maraming impormasyon mula sa OpenAthens.

Sa konklusyon, para gumawa ng development-oriented news story, nakakakaba at overwhelming talaga siya sa una kasi ang daming gagawin at mahaba mga proseso. Hindi siya pwede i-cram dahil hindi basta-basta nakukuha ang mga impormasyon na ilalagay at kailangan na mainaman na pananaliksik upang alam kung ano ang tatalakayin na problema. Pero pagkatapos ng takdang-aralin, naintindihan ko ang proseso at handa na ako gumawa ng panibagong paksa. Masaya gumawa ng development-oriented news story kasi nakikipag-ugnayan ka sa ibang tao at madaming bagong impormasyon ang makukuha mula sa pag interview, crowdsource, at pananaliksik. Kapag mas madami ang nabasa mo, mas maiintidihan mo ang paksan mo at alam mo kung panano ito tatalakayin at siguradong hindi magiging paikot-ikot ang gagawin mong development-oriented news story.

Hello…

Crowd sourcing public material posted on Facebook account of Marco C. Rapsing

A lot of dramas and nonsense feelings. Data gathering had made me catch a roller coaster experience. But that very day that I decided to leap myself up and do the work is the most fulfilling moment of all. 

We have been introduced with the three different methods of data gathering such as observation, retrieval, and interview. These methods have helped us gain information from first hand and second hand resources. With these, we’ve accomplished our exercises and attained reflections and life-lessons along the path. 

Observation

During the online setup, we’ve been restricted to meet face-to-face due to health restrictions. Because of this, it is very hard to observe the person we are talking to or getting information. 

In the sense of adapting to the current situation, I’ve learned to examine their voices as a form of observation to analyze how they feel in a given topic or question. Are they having a hard time answering those questions or do they find it advocating. Do they have that feel of eagerness while answering the questions intended to them. 

Retrieval

As one of the methods that challenged me given the unpopularity of my topic, retrieval became a hard trend. As someone who’s been doing research papers for the past two years given the different research subjects I had in my senior high school days, the struggles I encountered this year is new in my perspective and the way I do it right now is very uncharacteristic. 

Retrieval, this time evolved differently. We’ve been taught the different types of information to gather. What to input and what to be rejected. The consciousness and ideas lingering in my mind about rules made it difficult for me to finish my task. I always think of verifying the information I found which costs another time that can be allocated for other tasks to do. But then, I realize that media literacy is relevant because we are communicators. And as a communicator, we should always speak and write what is the truth, and the truth only. 

This data gathering method has taught me one thing: Do your task beforehand. As I finish my retrieval of data exercise days after its deadline, I concluded that it is better to do it earlier than to submit an output that is out of context, or putting different links and statements that aren’t checked thoroughly just for the sake of submission and passing on time. With this, I am also a living testimony as someone who cannot cram the related literature. 

Interview

Probably the best among the three, interviewing an expert in the field where my topic is aligned is much enlightening and enjoyable to do. I was able to talk with a dressmaker in Bagong Barrio, Pandi, Bulacan who has a family business of dressmaking which is mostly catering wedding event dresses. 

One thing I like about live interviews is that the interviewee is able to express themselves in the best way possible and not to follow in a given set of words and language. They are free to say anything and with that, we, as the interviewer, are able to get more information which is essential to the article we are doing. 

As a development communicator in-training, the lesson that I’ve learned which I will use every time from now one is to think of the medium where the both of you will meet. Given the pandemic, we’re struggling with how we will meet every individual and how to communicate with them. I concluded, beforehand the possible occurrence of being not knowledgeable of my interview to the navigation of either Zoom and Google Meet. Therefore, I decided to conduct a phone interview which turned out well.

To sum it up, we have used the three methods of data gathering consciously and unconsciously. These methods have helped us in the first exercise that was given to us. As a freshman of our degree program, we also gain knowledge and experience from our incidents which we faced that will be beneficial to our next DEVC courses to come. 

To end, as we continue to pave the way on entering new doors and unveil different paths, this is a starter of some more. This is just the beginning of more opportunities to serve the people. 

The C in DEVC

Interviewing is like the child of public speaking. It’s challenging, intimidating, nerve-wracking, stressful, and so on. I’ve had plenty of experience being interviewed, but not the other way around. Surprisingly I found it easier than the other two.

Ecological Solid Waste Management

I chose a topic close to my heart which is solid waste management. Whatever street I look at I never fail to see a heap of trash lying on the ground. I chose a topic that interests me as I believe it will help me to keep up with the intensive tasks that follow if I’m interested in what I’m doing. Furthermore, solid waste mismanagement is one of the most glaring issues in my community.

Retrieval

Document retrieval, suffice to say, should be easier than the interview. I found an advantage on my topic given one of my objectives was to assess the current state of ESWM in the city as well as the LGU’s implementation of RA 9003, all of which are available in government documents. I had the pleasure of receiving assistance as well from my interviewee by providing me the documents I needed that are otherwise unavailable on their website. Of course, I also had to find some resources myself, to which at this point I believe most of us DevCom students are already experienced at.

Reading them all was the challenge. Going through hundreds of pages of text and extracting the most important information takes time and effort. I realized skimming and scanning was the way to go, and that reading each document would probably be impossible given the time.

These documents contain relevant information, perhaps acceptable for scientific studies but insufficient enough for the more specific view I’m looking forward to as a development-oriented topic. That’s where interviewing comes in.

Interview

The C in DEVC stands for courage. The interview has been the highlight of my semester, considering how much anxiety it gave me just preparing for it. While it has been a challenge, I found it fun and exhilarating. I’m supposed to be the interviewer yet I felt like being interviewed myself. It made me realize how much experience provides in expertise, and I gained a new appreciation of TV reporters and media practitioners in general in how much proficiency it takes to do what they do and how effortless they make it seem.

I did not really prepare, despite how the module insists, for the interview. In the heat of the moment, all you can think of really is to not embarrass yourself. Observation is key when attempting to make a follow-up question. While it may vary depending on your interviewee, follow-up questions and transitioning in general felt like I was in an expressway, trying to make an exit. I can’t be too early or too late. I never thought this required skill as well, or maybe I’m just socially inept. Anyway, applying myself and doing my best is all I did and it worked out quite well, or maybe too well.

Tip: Try to take control of the interview if you don’t want to go past your schedule. My expected 20-minute interview lasted for an hour and a half.

Interviews excel in providing specific data that are inaccessible through conventional means (online in our case). It allows for quick follow-up questions and clarifications which are especially useful when discussing technical concepts across different fields. In my interview, I get to find out the roles of different members of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office, as well as understand the processes by which they conduct their roles in the LGU. I’ve never really thought about how garbage trucks operate on a city-wide level until I found out from my interviewee.

Moreover, for crowdsourcing, it gave me insights into the opinions of my target audience. I specifically asked about their experience in their barangay’s waste collection systems. I realized that all of their answers were profound and relevant as development-oriented topics ultimately concern the community.

Tip: Try to make your question as straightforward as possible, and your form (especially using google forms) short as some will close that tab once they see more than 1 page in that form.

Overall, the experience was delightful, and finishing it was such an accomplishment. I celebrated by going out with friends for dinner. No, really.

While I did say I tried to make things easier by choosing a topic I liked, it doesn’t hurt to experiment. Up the ante, take risks and perhaps you may find out new passions and interests that you would never have known.

Grabbing Courage

Gathering data for this exercise is one of the most challenging and time-consuming tasks I have done in my freshman year — to say the least. 

I was raised by a single mother who is also a lawyer. My siblings and I have big age gaps, and given that we were simultaneously going through different stages of our lives, I had spent a significant amount of time with my mom. I would overhear her work as she loves to talk out loud whilst typing her documents and proceedings. This piqued my interest in legal processes and overall, the legality of many things. 

Therefore, when we were given the chance to choose a topic, I decided to do just that. The pandemic has increased my consumption of delivery services and I wanted to see the legalities behind that as well. Prior to the exercise, I had encountered various testimonies and news articles of the labor conditions of delivery riders. There was a significant amount of technicalities that came into this issue which is why I decided to use it.

The data-gathering process was challenging due to the fact that I had no immediate connection with the group which I desired to study. Unlike students, parents, or even other teachers, I had no social media connections with these riders. I had to venture into various groups in order to disseminate my survey. These social media groups consisted of tens of thousands of members with thousands of posts per day. I initially found it intimidating to collect responses because of the numerous posts in the group. I had to observe the group, their mannerisms, their etiquette, their unspoken rules, and the way in which they communicated. 

Despite the question being composed in English, I had decided to include a Filipino translation in order to make the question more accessible to those who were not too familiar with the English language. I did not want to compromise the integrity of the responses due to a miscommunication brought about by a language barrier. I then used the responses as a context for my expert interview with a former labor arbiter of the National Labor Relations Commission.  

As I was preparing for the interview, I believe I was able to observe via participant observation during the time wherein I was part of various social media groups of riders. This inevitably created a bias for the riders which I actually had in mind during the creation of the interview questions and during the interview itself. This bias created an insightful and meaningful interview due to the fact that I was exposed to various perspectives surrounding this issue. I learned about the different technicalities as well as the extent to which the government could help regarding the issue. 

After all these events, I likened my experience to a roller coaster ride. There were various ups such as getting responses, being able to set an interview and even retrieving supporting articles and proceedings for my topic. On the contrary, the lows consisted of waiting for responses, repeated revisions of my questions, and feeling almost helpless when I was exposed to the reality of the situation. These ups and downs made me realize that this activity really required me to think beyond myself and to simply observe. To observe the dynamics and factors that came into play, to observe why the simplistic solution I had come up with in my head still had not solved the conflict, and to observe what else could be done in order to better the situation.

A Parlor’s Tale: How a ‘chismis’ can lead to a news story?

One day, I decided to have a haircut at a nearby parlor salon because I felt like I wanted something new. When I reached the parlor, I saw that there were women letting their hair dyed so I had to sit and wait for I while because the gays were occupied. For an hour, the polarizing odor of hair chemicals was piercing all the way through my nose. But it wasn’t only that, the gays were also enthusiastically sharing a piece of chismis that suddenly gave me a light bulb over my head moment. 

When it was my turn to get a cut, I secretly recorded the chismis on my phone, which is unethical without consent by the way so don’t do it. Even if I did not record it, I got the gist of the chika: there are disputes among gays caused by love life and business rivalry. And this is saddening me because, in our municipality, where the gays have been stereotyped mainly as parloristas and the LGBTQIA are underrepresented, it is also us who fight against each other. 

At home, I was still processing the observation that I had in the parlor. It was more than just a chismis. While confronting this epiphany, I suddenly thought that I could actually make this a take-off point for my development-oriented news story hence leading me to the Womanity campaign of my mentor and Miss Trans Global 2020 Mela Habijan. Womanity aims to uphold humanity through uniting women, transgender, LGBTQIA, and allies. Then, my professor told me to connect this campaign to policymaking hence my current news story—the role of the Womanity campaign in the immediate passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill. 

With this topic in mind, I made sure that my data gathering would emphasize two points: one is why the SOGIE Equality Bill needs to be passed and the second is what is the role of Womanity in policymaking now that the 2022 Election is underway. The first point of my data gathering was answered through document searching. I browse through the Internet to look for articles and studies that can justify the immediate passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill. I used the triangulation method to verify and ensure the authenticity of the data I gathered. I found out that earlier this year, three bodies of LGBTQIA individuals were found in Tagaytay City, Cavite, and up until today no justice is served to their families despite the existing Anti-Discrimination Ordinance in our province.

While doing a document search, I couldn’t help but be disheartened by everything that I read and see. It has been 20 years since SOGIE Equality was filed. It has already faced numerous revisions, yet it is still languishing at Congress. How many lives have to be slain and discriminated to finally enact this bill?

A protester is holding a placard that calls for justice for Jennifer Laude after President Rodrigo Duterte granted his murderer an absolute pardon. Photo by: Aaron Favila

The second point of my data gathered was answered in the interview. Miss Mela Habijan stressed the importance of her campaign to unite women, LGBTQIA, and allies in amplifying the calls for the immediate passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill. She said that this unity must manifest in the May 2022 polls. She urged women, LGBTQIA, and allies to unanimously vote for candidates who can champion the longest-running bill in Philippine history because in this way can we uphold humanity. I realized that what Miss Mela mentioned is indeed crucial because most of the candidates are manifestations of patriarchy, bigots, and human rights violators. One of the presidential aspirants even denounced the LGBTQIA Community as worse than animals. Therefore, there is a dire need to unite women, LGBTQIA, and allies in the upcoming elections not only for the immediate passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill but also to prevent us from living the next six years in fear and horror.

My data-gathering process is both disheartening and empowering at the same time. From hearing that my LGBTQIA sisters and brothers here in our town are disputing to knowing that we have to unite, especially now that the 2022 Elections is underway, in order to pass the SOGIE Equality Bill, gives me more reason to write my news story. I will write not because it is a requirement for my course, but because it is a story that everyone needs to hear. 

Today, as I write this article, I will have a haircut again at the parlor salon nearby because I want something new, newsworthy. Stories are out there. We just have to constantly seek them. 

Worth the Struggle.

It is the question I told myself upon knowing that we are about to do our first laboratory exercise in Introduction to Media Writing for Development Laboratory Class. In all honesty, I was intensely nervous at first because I knew deep inside of me that this activity embarked on our first task as development communication students that would show the skills and potentials that we learned during our lecture classes. I must say that the whole experience has had its ups and downs, but as I nervously clicked the “submit” button, I knew it was worth the struggle. Below are the following insights that I experienced during the data gathering:

Before anything else, I want to say that the UPLB Main Library was a lifesaver. I was amazed that it has many resources that helped me put important information towards my chosen topic. Even though we are allowed to search with trusted websites, I would not deny that the library was my main companion in putting together all of the knowledge I have gained throughout the process.

If I were to elaborate on some problems that I encountered in this part, it would be the times where I am overwhelmed with the amount of information that I read online. There are a lot of details that made me question if it would be helpful towards the main idea or will it just be repetitive information. Also, I have learned in our lecture class that it is vital to vary the degree of relevance of the information and decide whether it would assist in building up the data or introduce a new idea that will confuse the viewers. At the end of it, I learned that we should first assess which information would be significant and give the topic its body of insight.

It is the part that I believe made me aware of how long my patience was. I am already aware that the response to my invitation for an interview would take a while because I am trying to contact the public office. After several weeks had passed, and I had not yet received any response from them, I decided to call their hotline instead and gladly earned an acknowledgement. Thankfully, the person I am in contact with is kind and approachable to update about the the availability of the office head. With this, I was able to conduct the interview and sincerely gather consequential information that truly helped me know more about the topics I chose. She was the head office of the Youth and Sports Development Office in our community. Her insights about youth made me believe that many people support and root for young people to be an instrument of hope and a future for a better tomorrow.

Conducting the interview made me realize that we are bound to learn from each other. It taught me that expert people are there to share their knowledge and bring forth the relevance of their expertise to others. Their mastery in different fields becomes a contributing factor towards the development of our society.

In this part, I was able to recognize how the youth are being politically engaged nowadays through social media and other platforms to educate themselves towards the preparation for the coming elections and examine properly who the people would be running. I have seen numerous programs by the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and Youth and Sports Development Office (YASDO) in our community, which propose youth empowerment towards the young generation in Muntinlupa City.

In conclusion, I learned that to initially be politically engaged, we must first be vigilant and know the ordinances of our community. This piece of advice from my interviewee stayed in my system that I would surely bring with me as I continue to educate myself with political participation. I learned that we must teach ourselves to be knowledgeable of our rights and freedom to choose, especially in selecting a leader that will give light to our country and people’s lives.

Lesson Learned

It has only been a few months since I started the BS Development Communication course and yet I feel like I already learned so much by doing laboratory exercises such as gathering data, writing assessments, studying the modules, and conducting interviews. All of these experiences have taught me that learning something new will take time and patience. It might take days, weeks, or even months to fully understand a topic or concept. It might even be stressful, but if I manage to push through my personal barriers of pressure and anxiety, I actually find the pleasure in doing such work.

INSIGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

I slowly started to understand how a development communicator in training should think and work. Observation is the number one skill that we must have and practice in our everyday lives. We should observe the people around us so that we know who to approach or even interview about a certain topic. Getting to meet a lot of people gives us an advantage because having connections will help us get closer to the people we really need for our articles. I believe that it would be more hectic and difficult if we have no clue on how to find people in a certain field. Feeling lost could cause more problems.

Ever since I’ve been doing exercises in our laboratory section, I started to appreciate reading all kinds of articles and observe how every writer has their own unique style, and the different types of techniques used to attract certain audiences. I noticed how inferior some articles could be compared to the well-written ones, which I think was made with more effort and dedicated research. I was never the type to like these kind of things but as a student under the BS Development Communication course, it is not something I could avoid.

LESSONS LEARNT

I admit that I have learned a lot from my mistakes. I know I made a lot of errors because of how mindless I get at times but I knew they were part of my whole college experience and worrying about those errors won’t get me anywhere—it’s the learning process that I should focus on. I noticed that I tend to correct a lot of words and sentences in my work even after submitting them. It became a habit of mine and up to this point, I’m not so sure why. It’s most likely because I have a lot of other things to do other than one subject and the satisfaction of clicking the ‘submit’ button is uncontrollable. This made me learn to always double check everything, write drafts, and ask myself if it’s good enough for other people to read because having that kind of mindset pushes me to improve my work.

Another lesson that I’ve learned is to not hesitate to ask more questions when it comes to interviews because when I transcribed my interviewee’s answers, some of it did not make sense and there were parts when the the voice was inaudible. Unfortunately, I had to message the interviewee again about additional questions and I felt embarrassed for bothering them again. Thankfully, they were responsive and kind to reply to my messages.

Lastly, I learned that my topic’s objectives are the ones I should be looking out for. Everything I do—the questions, the outlines, and the whole paper itself but revolve around the objective or else there would be no purpose in writing the article.

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Indeed, I have made a lot of mistakes but all of these count as stepping stones for my improvement. I know that I would face more challenges which I know I won’t overcome perfectly. Like any other student, I am still one who has so much space for improvement, and I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied with my skills and qualities as I want to develop these until the end.

4Ms

Takot at pangamba. Dalawang bagay na tangi kong naramdaman mula aking mapagtanto na ito na, nasa DevCom na nga ako. Hindi ito maipagkakakila sapagkat mga inihaing aktibidad pa lamang ay mapapansin na. Hindi ko alam kung paano, hindi ko alam kung saan sisimulan ang aktibidad na ito. Pinaniwala ko na lamang din ang aking sarili na kaya ko sapagkat lahat naman ng bagay ay natututuhan. Gayunpaman, kahit hirap at medyo ligaw, hindi ako nagpatinag bagkus, ipinagpatuloy ko ang laban at gagamitin ko pa ang mga aral na aking nakuha upang mas maging mahusay.

Matapos kong malaman ang mga aktibidad na kailangan naming gawin, ako ay agad na nagmasid sa aking komunidad. Napagtanto ko na kahit sa lokal na pamahalaan, napakaraming malalaking problema na ang mga nag-uusbungan na nangangailangan din ng agarang solusyon. Sa aking palagay, hindi na sapat ang makinig at maagmasid lamang. Ngunit dito ko rin nakita ang kahalagahan ng pagmamasid o pag-oobserba sa ating paligid. Na kung minsan, ito ang nagiging dahilan upang kumilos at gumawa tayo ng aksiyon.

Pagmamasid pa lamang ito at patungo sa pangangalap ng iba’t ibang impormasyon, maraming bagay pa ang aking naengkwentro at natutuhan na nais kong ibahagi sainyo.

Maaaring may mga estudyante ring nahihirapan tulad ko sapagkat hindi pa gaanong pamilyar sa mga aktibidad na tulad nito. Kaya’t napakalaking tulong ang ating mga propesor at kapwa mag-aaral sa iba’t ibang antas. Dahil sa presensiya nila, nakayanan at nagawa ko ng maayos ang mga aktibidad na ito. Para sa akin, ang pagtatanong ay hindi tanda ng kahinaan; ito ay isang kalakasan. Huwag tayong mahihiyang magtanong dahil hindi lahat ng bagay ay ating alam. Normal ang magtanong lalo na’t patuloy pa rin tayo nangangapa at kung minsan, sa pamamagitan ng pagtatanong ay nadaragdagan ang ating kaalaman at mas marami pa tayong natututuhan.

Ang kalidad ng istoryang isusulat natin ay nakasalalay sa ating pananaliksik. Sa ganitong paraan, nabibigyan ng mas matibay na argumento ang ating paksa. Maraming impormasyon ang maaari nating makalap mula sa internet at maraming impormasyon din ating kailangan para sa ilalathalang papel. Bilang isang estudyante ng Komunikasyong Pangkaunlaran, kailangan nating maging mapanuri sa mga impormasyong ilalagay natin sa ating papel sapagkat malaki ang magiging epekto nito sa kabuuang istorya.

Napakahirap ng online setup lalo’t higit pagdating sa pangangalap ng datos mula sa iba’t ibang indibidwal at panayam mula sa eksperto. Sa panahon natin ngayon, nakita ko ang mas malalim na kahalagahan ng komunikasyon. Kung tayo ay mahihiya at hindi magkakaroon ng lakas ng loob makipag-usap sa mga taong may mahalagang partisipasyon sa ating aktibidad, walang mangyayari at mararating ang ilalathala nating istorya.

Buhat ng ako ay magsimula ng aking istorya hanggang katapusan, iba’t ibang tao ang aking nakasalamuha. Ang mga taong nagbigay kontribusyon para sa tagumpay nitong aking aktibidad. Kung hindi dahil sa mga taong ito, hindi ako magtatagumpay kaya’t laking pasasalamat ko sa bawat isa sa kanila – sa presenya at oras na kanilang inilaan. Bagama’t lahat tayo ay nahihirapan ngayon dahil sa pandemya, hindi pa rin sila nag-alinlangang magbahagi ng sariling panayam at kaalaman. Kaya naman, huwag natin kailanman kalimutang pahalagahan at pasalamatan ang mga taong tulad nila.

Sa bawat bagay na ating gagawin, iba’t ibang aral ang ating matutuklasan. Maaaring mahirap ang proseso, ngunit dapat nating alalahanin ang sukdulang tagumpay. May takot man at pangamba, subalit ito ri’y mapapalitan ng saya. At huwag mo sanang kalimutan ang 4Ms na siyang maaaring maging gabay mo sa aktibidad na ito.