Explained PH didn’t just open doors for me, it helped me become someone ready to walk through them

There are doors you notice only when they are already in front of you.

Not when they first appear, not when they begin to open, but when you realize you are being asked to step through them, and you are not entirely sure if you belong on the other side.

And for a long time, I believed that journalism was all about reaching those doors.

My JOURNey started way back in 4th grade. From Radio Broadcasting to Science and Technology Writing in 5th grade, and to News Writing in 7th-8th grade. Each step felt like progress, and every result felt like a measure of how “good” I actually was. 

The competitions I’ve entered have shaped me. But they also made me fragile. The results I’ve had have become the basis of my growth, and it’s become easy to believe that my worth moves with it.

Those improvements are only real once they are recognized. That effort only matters when it is seen.

And I carried those beliefs longer than I should have.

But somewhere, somehow, in between all of that, I found layouting. Unlike other categories that were recognized or known, being a layout artist was never the most visible role, as we often work behind the scenes.

I began layouting in 7th grade just for fun. I even entered multiple organizations and did pubmats that would be posted on Facebook. It became the one thing I kept returning to as I joined organizations every year. And I took pride in it. Even when I wasn’t sure that I was actually good at it.

By the time I reached my fourth and final year in junior high school, a category was introduced to me. It felt distant from what I knew, and it was something I could not immediately claim as mine. 

Since it was new to me, obviously, I hesitated and looked for ways to step back by suggesting others who could take my place. 

However, my SPAs, Ma’am Sandee and Ma’am Neri, urged me to continue. They did not force me. Instead, I believe that they refused to let me stay where I was.

So I tried. Not because I was ready, but because I had no reason not to try. With that, I trained alongside my senior, Kuya Andrei, who taught me the basics of the category. 

I searched for more resources here and there, and that’s where I first encountered Explained PH. I remember walking on the streets of Baguio as I scrolled through TikTok, and boom! JournCamp 2024.

I sent Keith, a friend of mine, a screenshot of the registration form, and we both joined. Later, we told our SPAs about how we registered, and they’ve decided to include the entire publication.

At that time, I was just there to learn. For me, Explained PH felt like an established organization far from where I was standing, and I did not think that, sooner or later, the organization would eventually become something more meaningful in my JOURNey.

Then RSPC 2025 came. My team and I won 7th place. Not bad for a first timer, eh?

SDO Balanga City’s Online Publishing-Filipino Team, RSPC 2025 (Cyrene, Ayesha, Gwen, Ardel, and Josh)
Along with Kuya Archie (Explained PH’s EIC), Juliah, Mhar, Mhark, and Mikee.

It was not a failure in the way I once understood failure. But it definitely lingered. And for the first time, I began to see the gap between effort and belief. I know I was trying, but I wasn’t convinced I was capable or good enough yet.

And that was the version of me that Explained PH met. The one who was unsure.

They saw something in me that I did not fully understand at first. How I got in without going through the tough selection and volunteer process, how I was given a space inside the org, how I was trusted, and how I was chosen because of what they believed I could become.

I stayed, and I did my best. Somewhere in between, something definitely changed. In the way I approached my work, and began to trust it. And a big part of that came from the kind of guidance I received. It wasn’t that noticeable, but I felt it thanks to chief. 

That kind of belief, especially when it came from someone you respect, has a way of it staying with you. It made me reconsider my own doubts and slowly trust my own work.

By May 2025, I was offered to be the Graphics Head at Explained PH. There were still doubts. There are always doubts. Pero lagi ko inaalala ‘yung sinabi ni chief na “No one is 100% ready.” I knew that I was not navigating this JOURNey alone, and that I had people who believed in me and in what I can do.

Explained PH’s Graphic Recruits, 2025.

Opportunities began to appear differently. I was able to write again, host a forum, and even serve as a speaker for a focus group discussion.

Explained PH’s Anniversary Public Forum, Daiven Monforte’s Session, 2025.

JuanClick’s Focus Group Discussion for National Campus Press Freedom Day, Explained PH’s Representative, 2025.

Explained PH has been a space for me that allowed me to grow beyond what I thought I was capable of. It gave me the chance to explore different roles, take on much more responsibility, and understand that journalism is not just a competition. 

When I returned to RSPC this year, I carried all of these experiences with me, and I did not carry the same doubts I once had. If radio broadcasting was my TOTGA, and science writing was my first love/heartbreak, then online publishing had become something else entirely. Not something I chose once, but something that I continued choosing. 

And this time, I won. We won. And that victory was never mine alone. To ATTP, you guys know who you are. Thank you for believing in us. And especially to our teachers who kept us safe, guided, and even made sure we were well-fed during our stay in Baler, we super duper appreciate you. 

SDO Balanga City’s R3SPC Delegates, 2026. R3SPC 2026 1st Place, Online Publishing Filipino.

This victor led us to NSPC, the very door I had once believed defined everything.

But standing there, and leaving NSPC without a podium finish, I realized that it no longer held the same weight. Because the distance I had been trying to cross was never between me and that stage. It was between who I thought I was, and who I was becoming.

And I believe that “that” distance had already been bridged long before I arrived in Ormoc. That is what Explained PH gave me. Not just the door itself, though, but the ability to step towards it without hesitation.

Grabe ‘no? There’s just something about being a part of Explained PH that doesn’t hit you all at once.

Which is why, in this JOURNey of mine, Explained PH didn’t just open doors, it helped me become someone ready to walk through them and to keep walking, no matter where they lead.