on seanachies and word artists

currently transporting favorite entries from my other blog in multiply.

i rarely have the urge to write something that really conveys my thoughts, my feelings and myself. to be honest, i find it scary. i don't know why people would sometimes automatically label me as 'writer' just because they know that i took up mass communications and majored in journalism. in my mind, it won't automatically make you a writer. so when people tell me, "so writer ka" or "writer ka pala", i just shrug or make a facial expression that suits my mood at that moment. i think it conveys my thoughts about the matter clearer than any spoken word.

the thing is, i do not really consider myself a writer. i know most people would argue, especially because i have been known to make a living claiming to be a writer. i write articles, speeches, programmes and scripts and sometimes copyread the written words. i had a stint in maintaining a blog, professionally. but i am not a writer. the above mentioned are things that i do to make a living and it seemed enough for the employers, the ones who pay me to do those things, and the ones who believed that i am indeed a writer. i beg to differ.

my personal definition of a writer is not just someone who writes words. an accountant who does accounting professionally might not consider himself an accountant. it just happened that accounting is what he does for a living. what you say you are should convey a whole lot about you not just what you do to make money. it should be borne out of your passion, your heart and mind, your soul. it is not that something you went to college for. what you went to school for is a formal education. something that we need to get a job and make a living. something that answers the 'occupation' part on a personal data sheet and something that you tell people when they ask you "and you are?..." which of course translates to query about what you do for a living because that would be how people would judge you and assess your worth.

a writer should write for himself first, for others, second. i have not known myself to accomplish the first; and i pass as a writer doing the latter. so when i sometimes forget myself and claim to be a writer, forgive me and just forget about it unless you are a potential employer. it was a slip, and i am probably drugged and delusional at that moment.

i claim to do many things, but for now, i just want to be a storyteller.