Letter from the Editor

Ten years ago, I passed my very first article to be published in Tanglaw. It was a short story, about a girl, the monster that lived in the janitor’s closet of her school, and a knight. I wrote a few versions of that story, but in the end, the one I submitted was the simplest version, with the knight saving the girl, just like in a fairy tale. At least, I think that was the version that I passed. Time tends to muddle your memories.

           Though years have passed, I still remember the feeling that I felt when my little story was published for the first time, to be shown to all  the students and teachers in the school. I was so proud of myself, and there was a smile on my face every time someone told me that they’d read it and liked it -- maybe it was that feeling that has kept me writing all these years.

I started in Tanglaw as another cub reporter, writing articles on whatever I was assigned to. News writing never came easy to me, but story writing did, so it was no surprise that I became the literary editor, and then the features editor. Now, I’ve been acting as the Editor in Chief for two years, and it’s time for me to pass the mantle on to the next person.

It hasn’t been an easy journey, getting here. It’s been years of staying in school late to watch over the layouting process and chasing after deadlines. More than once, I’ve contemplated leaving Tanglaw, thinking to myself that I had enough on my plate without trying to rewrite a single-spaced document to be typed in manually. I’ve had to adjust and learn my way around the digital set up of this new normal. Still, despite my hesitations, I continued, and I’m glad that I did.

Staying with Tanglaw has opened doors for me. It helped me improve  my writing, gave me the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, taught me how to cooperate and compromise and be firm when needed. I’m thankful for the experiences I’ve had, and for the people I’ve met who shared in my struggles and in my successes. I’m thankful to my team: my writers and staff members, my section editors, and my fellow board of editors Clark and Kaleah, who have helped produce quality content issue after issue. I’m thankful to our advisers, Sir Teves, Sir Lim, and also Mrs Limin, who have never given up on me and the paper, though it may have seemed like a lost cause at times.

And to each and every person who has picked up a copy of Tanglaw or visited the Tanglaw site, and read through the fruits of our labor, you have my gratitude. Your readership is what keeps writers going, so I hope you'll continue to support the next generations of Tanglaw writers on their own journeys.

As I say my goodbyes to Tanglaw, I wonder if I’ll still remember everything that I’ve been through one, five, ten years from now. I doubt it. I can barely remember some things that happened a few days ago. Despite that, I know that when I look back to the time I’ve spent here, writing and listening and learning, it will be with fondness. We rarely remember the things we have done, but we never really forget how they made us feel.