This Thursday, after class, I, with my Special Topics in Journalism group went to fetch material for our report. We were to interview a certain Mr. Jim Gomez of the Associated Press news about peace communication. Honestly, journalism's image was then getting more uninteresting by the day. I had hopes that somehow, sometime after I graduate, I'd be able to travel the world to talk and write about things that spark interest in even the most unlikely of people. But from what I've seen us do in our course so far, that image was reduced to going into crime scenes, police stations and government agencies so we could report about crimes, misdeeds and sad affairs. I was expecting a thick-eyeglass-wearing, Peter Parker-ish sort of geek. One that pushes pens and is glad to do it: under pressure and underpaid. How wrong I was...
We alighted the train at Pedro Gil, a corner of Manila unknown to me. There were no tall buildings, no malls, no condos; all the place had were sidewalk vendors with their mats strung out, taking up almost half the walkable space. The underpaid geek image was getting stronger in my head. "Is this where I'm headed to?" I thought to myself.
We walked about a quarter of a mile, when alas, signs of civilization started to show. Skyscrapers, a high-end mall (one so hardcore it doesn't even have McDonald's or KFC in it), clubs and hotels abounded. So, yeah, the image began to fade a bit... as it did completely in the next 5 hours. Our subject sent us a message that he won't be around 'til 4 pm. But we were already there at 2, so we wasted a good couple of hours goofing off at a 7-Eleven. At 4 pm, we tried to reach our subject, but to no avail. So we tried going directly to his place of work... which is inside a four star hotel. It must've been 50 stories high. The attendants were in suits and long dresses, there was a squad dog outside with a handler, and there were foreigners going in and out the building... I was thinking, "What in the world? This guy works like the President!" Forget swag, his office is a fucking A+ in class, and by 'class', I didn't mean academics. Far as profession is concerned, this guy is living my dream life!
Around 20 minutes later, we were face to face with him inside the Associated Press' HQ. He was so down to earth, open and mellow. A little goofy, yet knowledgeable. He's got 16 years of broadsheet journalism behind him, but he talks like there's still so much for him to learn and do... Amazing. Just amazing. Shame though, his office was so cold, cozy and silent, I actually fell asleep for like 5 minutes while my friends were holding the interview. How irresponsible of me... Not much harm done though. He'll probably remember me for it but in a fun way. The guy has been deep in war zones and remote areas only a few dare go, so I don't think a sleepy interviewer would've offended him more than a rebel taking his wife's watch with a gun point-blank to his head. (Yeah, he's been there).
Oh, dear. It'll take so much practice and dedication to get where he is. Discipline, skills, drive... these put Mr. Jim Gomez in his lofty state. Essentially, there are only three paths in Journalism: Writing, radio and television. Writing is the most adventurous (and is also the riskiest and underrated) road, but after Thursday's episode, I'm starting to think it's where I want to be. How the hell am I going to even reach a fraction of what he achieved? My writing is primitive, my discipline is fucked at best, and drive? I'm not even sure why I get up in the morning.
Life is an unkind struggle. If 'mind over matter' is true, then mine has a lot of shit to clean up. It has to get it's act together. Who wants a fucking desk job 5 days a week? Who wants a nine to five trying not to drown in papers and stamps for the next 40 years? I certainly don't. So, let there be change, Dave. Let there be bloodshed. Today, you are pathetic. But I don't think anything's impossible. All men are created equal. If he can do it, why can't you?
The answer, I guess, would come to us in the next few years...
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