PRINGLES AND WRITING

Once you pop, you can’t stop.

This is one of the phrases I know that is derived from eating the crisp potato chips known as Pringles. But the use of the line has also evolved through time. It has even been used to describe different exploits one may have enjoyed in life; but that is not the case of this work. Over a conversation with a friend, I came to realize that the same concept can be attributed to writing. More than a leisure activity that eats up idle time, writing mobilizes my eyes, my mouth, my hands, and most importantly, my mind. Much to the opposite of the original goal of exhausting myself to sleep, writing amplifies my senses, often extending my nights from as short as one hour to periods stretching to undetermined times.

The crunch, the salt, and the flavoring are basic components that I believe are essential for a fried potato to be a legit potato chip. Let us start with the crunch. Crunch disrupts the harmony and the pacified nature in our mouth. More often than not, Filipinos love crunchy meals such as lechon, crispy pata, and potato chips. I say the crunch in an article is the level of interest it can generate using its title and the first few words. It creates enough tension to stimulate a reader’s mind. Next is the salt. Salt is a universal flavoring agent. Being able to use a salt in writing is to use a medium common to people separated by geography, technology, education, and other factors. Lastly, we have flavoring. Flavoring creates the personality distinct in every piece of writing made by an individual. Shakespeare wrote tragedies, Dylan wrote poetic songs, and Rizal (the Filipino national hero) wrote revolution-triggering novels. Each individual should eventually learn to use these components in order to communicate their minds to others.

Writing is a gift to humanity as Pringles is a gift to a hungry stomach. This gift has allowed people to leave imprints of their lives to their successors. Whether it speaks of science, religion, philosophy, history, and anecdotes, we are assured of the continuity of ideas and thoughts throughout generations. We learn to appreciate. We learn to progress. We learn to communicate globally. That is the reason why I continue writing articles in English. It is never my intent to alienate my fellow Filipinos. Sa katotohanan nga, sa bawat pagkakataong ako ay makikipag-usap sa mga kabayan, Tagalog pa din ang ginagamit ko. Para sa akin, pinakamainam at pinakadama pa din ang talastasan sa sariling wika – masarap sa pakiramdam! Kaya huwag tatalikuran ang sariling atin. But in this site, I aim to communicate to people beyond my hometown and my country. I pray more and more people, especially the youth, to discover their niche in expressing themselves through writing – not just pointless and random blabs, and nonsensical stories on how their day was. I believe such journals are better kept under the pillows far away from my eyes.

But then again, I wish to contradict what I had said. Here we have is a free world. A world where we can talk about anything under the sun (even if I consider some as plain stupid and a waste of my time). We may have norms that censor every other work for subjectively offending parties; but in the world where internet has been very instrumental, we all deserve an opportunity to tap every potential our mind has. We can justify the existence of the internet by being creative, expressive, and smart. And everyone deserves a chance to satisfy their knowledge.

Today is the best time to expand our minds. So I won’t hold it against you if… YOU POP AND YOU CAN’T STOP!