BFF – Blogger’s Friend and Foe

“We cannot please everybody” That is fact that we cannot deny. Though we tried our best to be good for them, still there are people whose mind are shallow enough and cannot appreciate the simple things that we do.

I started blogging last 2007, my entries at that time were just letters to myself. I wrote stories that no one ever know because I am afraid to be criticized by other people. Let us just say I was a coward at that time; a year after, I never attended my blog and my stories were forgotten by time. I was so busy with my work and studies, and writing as a hobby had been neglected. I lived a life like of a robot for more than two years until I realized that I was already losing myself. I was drifted with responsibilities that I seldom see myself paint a genuine smile on my face. Recently, I was browsing the web and stumble in blog where I read the story that awaken my literary interest.  “Ang Kuya Kong Crush ng Bayan by Mike Juha”, the story of Jason and Romuel awaken my mind. It made me dream again, it brought new hope to my withering heart and at the end of their story, I found myself typing my college memory entitled “The Debater’s Love Story”. After that, I reopened my old blog and I am thankful because it was still active. I made major changes on the layout and renamed it “Literature of Life”. I chose that name because Literature reflects human experiences and it mirrors our humanity. Thus Literature itself is life and my blog will only publish the life of life itself.

Not so long after I reactivated my blog, I had made friends with the author itself of MSOB, Mike Juha. He was kind and warm to me. He invited me to write on his blog which made me feel honoured, and in return he also became a contributor in my blog. I regularly visited MSOB and read more stories and chatted with other readers and writers. One day I chatted with Rovi, the main character of Task Force Enigma and the author of UNBROKEN. I invited him to share his stories in my blog which he graciously accepted. He also introduced me to the author of TFE, no other than Dalisay who instantly became my friend and contributor in own blog. I fell in love with his story “Kung Kaya Mong Sabihin na Mahal Mo Ako” when I first read it. Mike and Dalisay encouraged me to write again which paved the way to my first tagalog story entitled “Ang mga Pangarap ni Fredo”. I began to enjoy reading and writing during my spare time in spite of my heavy schedule in the call center and in the school.  

I write not to empress anyone but to share my thoughts, my dreams and my aspirations. I intended to transform my experiences and the happenings around me into fiction and bring forth lessons to the readers. I have joined several blog sites and one of these is the BOL. At first, I already noticed some readers (not all) who displayed negative attitudes, but still I posted my articles there. My first article in BOL was a cold welcome, some commented why I wrote in English, they thought I was a trying hard writer. I never mind them, because I respected their right to say whatever they want to say. Recently, I wrote a true story entitled “Neltach”. I never expected that my simple request to rate my blog would create a negative impact on some readers. An anonymous reader posted a discriminatory comment which is pointed directly to me as the author and not to the story I wrote. I never wanted to reply on his comment so I deleted my post in BOL. A day after that, the anonymous reader followed me in my Facebook account and sent me a personal message “have originality on requesting torrid part..haizz pilipino nga naman gaya gaya ng style....”  The account was under a guy named Jay Parker. I replied to him, telling him that I was not forcing him to vote if he doesn’t want to, and thanked him for his comment. I closed the issue and decided to keep quite. I did not expect that because of this incident I would found a friend who is willing to lower down his level and fight for me. Dalisay is just like my heroine, protecting me from my attackers. When I read the thread of comments posted both in BOL and MSOB, I do not know how to react anymore, I do not want to post new comments as I don’t want to ignite the fire of the issue. Since the beginning, I have accepted the fact that I am not as good as the other writers here, but that did not hinder me from writing my thoughts in my own simple style. If someone does not like what I write, then don’t read. I am not forcing anyone here.

Mr. Jay Parker, you are still young and you will learn a lot along the way. I appreciate your honest comment, but always remember that we are not measured with our intelligence, our success in life is measured with our attitude. I would like to close this issue and may everyone have a peaceful life.

Dalisay, you were the only one who fought for me. I found a true friend in you. A friend that I will cherish for the rest of my life, I will never forget how you protected me. I never had a friend like you before. I must say, you are the first friend of all my friends who stood and fought in my behalf. Thank you very much!