IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay (MindaNews /24 March) — As a journalist, mother, sister, and daughter, my life often moves at a relentless pace. Each day brings new challenges, assignments, and responsibilities that demand my full attention and time.
Behind every headline are moments of struggle that journalists witness, and the emotional weight of those stories often remains with the storyteller. I have always carried those experiences quietly.
I became a journalist by chance when a military broadcaster recognized my potential in broadcasting, leading me to fulfill my dreams.
Journalism taught me to be objective and composed even in the most difficult situations. Covering disasters, tragedies, and listening to stories of loss requires not only courage but immense emotional strength. I have always carried those situations silently.
It was during an art therapy session with Ms Amanda Echavarria that I found the courage to release all the emotions I had been carrying and began to realize the power of transformation. I never imagined that art therapy would help me find peace and learn to express feelings I had long kept inside. With every brushstroke and every color placed on canvas, emotions that had long been unspoken slowly revealed themselves.
Finding balance between these two worlds was not immediate; it was a gradual realization that healing is not separate from the profession of storytelling but a discovery of a deeper sense of resilience.
Today, I remain a journalist dedicated to documenting the realities that shape our communities, while understanding the importance of stepping back and allowing silence and color to soothe the hardships faced by journalists.
Through art, I discovered that even those who tell the stories of others need space to heal.
In finding balance, we do not leave journalism behind; instead, we simply learn to carry it with a lighter heart.
Criste G. Basadre is station manager of Radyo Bisdak FM and news stringer of GMA News Network, covering Zamboanga Sibugay province. She is known as a strong, independent woman and believes in the saying that “the only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.”
[BAYI-LINES is part of the Safety Training Series of the Media Impact Philippines project implemented by the Mindanao Institute of Journalism (MinJourn), publisher of MindaNews, in partnership with the International Media Support (IMS) with funding from the European Union and the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.]
