CAN-DEMIc in PANDEMIC

Mary Vel S. Custodio Senior Stafer

Looking back on February 9, 2020 which was almost three years ago, this is the caption that welcomed me to the FEU Advocate. As I entered the student publication, I am already seeing myself meeting and bonding with my new friends in the organization, seeing my work published online and in print, and joining events that can improve my art skills. However, after a month, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and everything that I envisioned had a huge revision.

Looking back, while adjusting as a new member of the organization, I was also adjusting to the drastic changes and restrictions because of the pandemic. Meeting and having a bond with my co-stafers were as sketchy as when will the restrictions be lifted at that time. I never had a chance to have a meeting with my co-stafers in the Arts section, nor mentored by our Art Director at that time due to the adjustments. None of my few outputs was posted for almost a whole semester and I did not even experience working on a print issue since all were postponed due to the pandemic.

Looking back, this gray paint of my journey is fnally fnding its color. From being a traditional artist, I found myself learning digital art. I found time watching tutorials and made personal art by applying what I learned as I was stuck at home 24/7.

At that time, I was only using a free application on my tablet to draw. When the next batch of editors had entered, I can already submit digital outputs and most of my works were being posted already. This time, I was able to notice that it was not only me who is learning to adjust to the situation but as well as our editors, since they were trying to conduct our general assemblies online.

Looking back after a year into the lockdown, another batch of editors who entered the publication, and everyone had learned to fully adjust to the new normal. Everything was becoming productive. There were more frequent online general assemblies, regular section meetings, and digital issues of newspapers and magazines pushed through, and we were able to attend and even conduct our own webinar. I can also see more improvements in my digital art skills since aside from relying solely on the techniques that I absorbed in online tutorials, our Art Director was already mentoring us and giving us constructive feedback that helped me learn and improve my art style. Also, since there are more online bonds within the organization and in our section, I already established friendships with my co-stafers. All that I envisioned the frst time that I entered FEU Advocate was already in the progress, just that everything was happening online. Fortunately, before the term ended, limited face-toface was already implemented in the university which enabled us to interact and bond with some of my co-stafers on-campus. Finally seeing my costafers was the highlight of my term.

Now that we are back in full face-toface, I can communicate and bond with my co-stafers easier, I can contribute to physical copies of the newspaper, and we can help each other more efectively to improve our work. Even though the setup is already back as before, the diference is we are able to adept at using online means when needed which made us more fexible, especially when working in collaborations.

Now, do I still want to look back despite the challenges brought by the pandemic? Defnitely! Building a paintbrush requires several strands of bristle—likewise, building an artist requires several challenges. For me, improving my artistic skills is a challenge that I successfully surpassed during the lockdown. How I grew as an artist during the pandemic is a story that I can proudly share with future artists, and one of those artists is you, who is reading this.