So I am meeting with my mentor, Filipino essayist Susan Lara, soon. I have submitted four new chapters to her to look at. It's been an interesting journey as the last few months of writing did not only allow me to write about my essay but also to research more for it.
I also spoke to Filipino TV documentary host, Howie Severino, as we explored how our heritage has been eradicated through years of colonisation and forgetfulness. In particular, we spoke about the Baybayin script, and how, the eradication of our old writing system in the Katagalugan region has impacted our identity.
At present, I am still imbibing all this new information, so I have only written notes and anecdotes about it. Meanwhile, my second workshop with the RCN finished this summer and I am glad that more healthcare workers participated in the writing workshop. There was 100% attendance and 85% of them reported the workshop to be 'excellent' whilst the rest as 'good'. I believe that there is just so much story out there in the NHS that we need to give opportunities of illuminating them. I am very happy that ACE is able to make this a reality for me.
I also noticed that the essays are turning more like personal narrative work, and I identified that some more writing of the research I have collated would solidify some of my 'weaker' work. So, I have more writing to do! Better get back to it!
