When I was a kid, the only thing I knew doing was to write—my name, specifically. I wrote it everywhere. I wrote it on a grade one pad even though I was only entering kindergarten. I wrote on the walls even when my mother scolded me. I wrote on my arms and legs and pretended they were tattoos.
Eventually, I learned to write stories. My feelings, my daily routine, my frustrations, my problems. I wrote them down on the journals I never seemed to finish, with pens I always seemed to lose, about the voices in my head that never seemed to stay silent. I grew older, and the voices grew up with me. They stopped showing me the rainbows and roses of childhood. Losing those voices meant losing my writing and that wasn’t something I ever wanted or ever want to happen again.
RELATED: The #WIMtern Experience: Our Favorite Moments with WIM
High school was when I wrote poems that always sounded deep and dark but in hindsight now sounded opaque and vulnerable. They so clearly tell of metaphors dying to shout out the workings of an infatuated pre-teen. Not until college did I write about truth, about what I saw and heard. All was well again, until I lost time and interest in a hobby that everybody told me would get me nowhere.
But here’s where I am now. My “nowhere”—a WIMtern (WIM intern) for When In Manila.
My brodies and I got featured in a Kapuso Mo: Jessica Soho episode on millennials!
A check on our bucket lists and a great learning experience on TV prods as well.
I often got to bring even my non-WIMtern friends on adventures like this one where we tried archery for the first time at Kodanda Archery Range! It encouraged them to look into applying to become WIMterns themselves.
The things I write for When in Manila might seem light and non-literary. I write food features, movie reviews, basically anything under the sun. People started reveling in all the things I got to experience for “free” and “all I had to do was write about it.” Call me corny, but being a WIMtern became so much more than just writing about the things you’ve done. It’s about meeting the most talented people from every craft. People from every corner of the business world, student and workers alike. I’ve never been more inspired than I am now since I’ve gotten to work with these people. And never would I ever regret that split second decision I made to send in my application. There was probably a one in one thousand chance (probably, since I’m not a statistician) that I would even get in. Yet here I am, feeling blessed and lucky for all the places I’ve gotten to go to, all the food I ate, all the experiences I had, and all of the things that are still waiting for me on the other side. I don’t want to graduate this internship yet (trust me, none of us do) but I’m more than happy to see more people join the wacky family that is When in Manila.
The PhilFrance Fashion Week: Clivia Nobili Fashion Show was one of my favorite features.
We got to talk to the designer herself, and the French Cultural Ambassador.
I even got featured on Ramen Nagi’s Facebook page promoting their ramen promo.
This was memorable just because of the fact that I am OBSESSED with ramen!
I’ve learned soooo many things from the admins, my fellow interns, and even the people I met on features!
It was always fun to see the surprised and wondered look that dawned on them when they found out we were still in college—that we were just interns. I could see how beneficial those experiences were, especially the ones where WIM trusted us enough to put into more serious and business-like environments.
I honestly have no idea if I would still be writing today had I not gotten into When in Manila. So believe me when I say that joining this team would be the best decision you’d make. If you wanna know more or would like to sign up, head on over here: Join the WIM Team!
Whether you’re a student who needs it for OJT, a creative looking for an outlet, a working adult needing a fun yet productive environment, then this is the place for you. When in Manila doesn’t just stay in Manila, it takes its community all over the world. So don’t just stay a reader, become a creator! Tag your friends, relatives, colleagues, or whoever you’d think would make a good match for the team. Help us grow the community and help your creative juices grow with us, too!
