Sunday, April 15, 2007

The Biggest Challenge

It has been a long time since I posted here. For the last few weeks that I had been dormant a lot has happen to me and let me start it off with biggest news of them all: I will be the next Editor in Chief of The Heraldo Filipino. :-)
To be honest, I did not believe that it is possible that I will get the position since I know for a fact that I am not the best writer in the publication plus the fact the I failed to make the cut when I applied last year for News Editor and Office and Circulations Manager (OCM). But an editor once told me that being an editor is not just about being the best writer in the bunch, it is also about leadership and being commited in whatever you do. When I took the editorial exams on the last week of March, I have a goal in mind. I do want to become an editor and correct the mistakes I have done last year which thwarted my editorial bid.I prepared more this year and took every exam seriously. I did not apply for the EIC position but for the Associate Editor position. But inside my heart I want to be the EIC but I was not confident that I'll get the position since I think it was a long shot for a senior staff like me to jump to EIC. I applied for the Associate Editor instead since I believe I could do the job well and have greater chances on getting the position. I also applied again for the News and OCM but I prioritized the ASSOC position. But my fellow staff members were telling that I have a shot to be the EIC and I was so touched because a lot were really rooting for me. I feel so blessed that there were so many people who believe in me and because of them I became more inspired. In the panel interview, the panelists asked me a lot of "what will you do if you'll become the next EIC" questions. From there, i knew had a chance, so I speak my heart out and discussed what I plan to do if I became the EIC. Also, the written exam for ASSOC as it turns out was also the same with EIC exam.
After all the screening process were through, I prayed and thank God and also said to him that whatever the results will be I'll gladly accept it. When the day has come for the announcement of the new editors, i was so nervous. They announced the positions in random.When they announced that the ASSOC this year will also handle the OCM duties since the panelists believe that s/he is both competent to handle both duties, I was 99% percent sure that it was my name they will call out but alas, it wasn't me. With assoc/ocm position announced the positions lefet were the sports ed, news ed and EIC. And the next to be announced was the EIC position, the HF office was full of tension. I was too, I could not think straight and I had butterflies in my stomach. When they called out my name, the people in the office cheered wildly. I almost cried actually because I could not believe that I made it. I was really touched by the support the HF people gave to me. I had a little speech and I said that I am often scared to face a lot of stuff, but I realized that being scared all the time will not help me, I missed a lot of opportunities in my life because of fear of failure. I always think low of myself but when you guys supported me and believed in me, my self esteem went up and became more driven to bring out the best not just for myself but for the other people.
No doubt, this school year I will face the biggest challenge of my life. I wont deny I'm nervous but I am excited. I will do my best to lead the publication but one thing I promise that I will not take any obstacle and problem pull me down. I am ready.