Mission accomplished!

All three parts of my glutathione special report have been published! I feel very relieved that the hurdle is finally over. You could not imagine how worried I was as the issues got published one at a time.

When the first part came out a few weeks ago, I was jittery (and sweating) all over. Its been eleven months since my last features-cum-investigative report. While doing the series, I had these seeds of doubt running in my head every now and then. Can I finish the stories? Will it be good enough? Am I good enough?

This was my first grant!

No, this series will not win me any journalistic awards and I don't think I have the style and tone to bag one. I have long accepted that fact. But I'm proud of what I accomplished.

In hindsight, I could have done more for this project. I could have interviewed more people, found better figures, edited, editorialize, blah blah blah. But at the end of the day, after the deadline lapsed, this is what I have.

And just the thought of finishing something I've never done before, of seeing the shares and tweets and comments in social networking sites, of getting reactions from friends and acquaintances--all these small things fill me with bliss.

And despite the dry spells, the self-conscious nagging thoughts, the fear of negative feedback, I so so want to do this again. :)

Here are the links to my three-part series on glutathione capsules for the Maggie de Pano Fund for Investigative Journalism:

• White skin comes with a price Newsbreak | ABS-CBN News Online
• Big bucks on beauty ads Newsbreak | ABS-CBN News Online
• Amid weak regulations, consumer activism needed Newsbreak | ABS-CBN News Online

Now I'm looking forward to another fellowship. If I get admitted, I might be spending my holidays getting very little rest with my mind full of cigarettes. :)