As you close your eyes to recollect ideas that suddenly vanished, you hear a voice saying “What’s wrong?” You open your eyes and see your face staring back. You talk to her and she talks back. You discuss your dilemma, she makes a suggestion. Oh, the perks of having an identical twin who loves writing as much as you do!
The youngest winners this year, Glorious Zavannah Exylin C. Alesna and Glorious Zahara Exylin C. Alesna, are 13-year-old twin sisters from Pangasinan. Zavannah won third prize in Kabataan Sanaysay for her masterpiece Sa Panahon ng Bagabag at Balisa: Paghagilap sa Pira-pirasong Retaso ng Hinahon at Pa(g)hinga, while Zahara won second prize in Kabataan Essay for her masterpiece The Bully is You. Last year, they made history for being the first twins to win at the Palanca Awards.
“Our hearts are overflowing with happiness because we won not once, but twice, and it has shown us just how far we can go and how far we can push our writing,” Zavannah said. “We are thrilled to have received the Palanca Award, which provides us with the confidence to keep writing and pursuing our goals.”
Writing was introduced to the twins in elementary school, and since then, they continuously hone their craft with the help of teachers. The COVID-19 pandemic gave them even more opportunities to sharpen their skills as they were confined to their home, attending online classes.
The Grade 9 twins have competed in numerous essay writing contests on behalf of their school, and they won the majority of them. If you’re wondering who inspired the Alesna sisters to write, Zavannah said, “When we were kids, my mother would show us articles by Shakira Andrea C. Sison and Patricia Evangelista, which inspired us to write because writing can give us the feeling of writing down our emotions when we can’t express them out loud or in a room full of people, and it adds a vibrant color to our lives.”
When asked if they have any pre-writing rituals, the Alesna sisters promptly said no. Their strategy was simply “brainstorming.” Before writing anything, the twins engage in a meticulous process of planning, reflecting, sharing ideas, and engaging in conversations about a variety of topics and perspectives.
“Whenever we’re going to write, we just brainstorm together because we don’t want to write the same thing. Brainstorming provides each other ideas and another perspective to look at and write about,” explained Zavannah.
The youth on ‘mental health’
This year’s Kabataan Division theme centers around mental health and how society addresses these challenges. Both twins created outstanding and exceptional masterpieces.
Zavannah’s essay discusses the public’s lack of information about mental health and its critical significance in each person’s life. She looks at how the media portrays mental health, writing “Kapag may problema sa kalusugan sa isip, laging may split personality disorder o nagpapatiwakal. Ganito ikinahon ang ating pananaw na kung taliwas sa nakaugalian ay hindi katanggap-tanggap,” and looks to the government to help address the issue with the plea: “Para sa gobyerno, higit na prangka at lalong higit na walang kahihiyang diskurso ang kailangan ng kalusugan ng isip.”
She also explains how people are deceived by false news simply by talking about it or sharing it with others who are unaware of whether the information they are disseminating is accurate or not. In the end, Zavannah believes self-awareness and education are imperative. “Diligan ang utak ng kaalaman; pagyabungin ang kamalayan; at magkaroon ng tainga at pusong handang makinig at umunawa,” the essay reads.
On the other hand, Zahara’s piece “The Bully is You,” highlights the issue of people who are oblivious to the struggles of those with mental illness, leading to discriminatory and biased treatment. She emphasizes that “there is a lie in every scar that we have and everyone has an imaginary bully with the power to destroy us; without realizing it, we are all bullies and part of the stigma.”
Becoming effective writers
The twins share the same hobby other than writing, which is, you guessed it, reading! They both agreed that in order to become an effective writer, you must first read. Zahara said that, “Reading can help you broaden your vocabulary, obtain knowledge about things you aren’t aware of, and perceive things from a different point of view.”
“Despite having writer’s block, reading helps me get past it by referring to some articles to which I was able to relate. Reading has also allowed me to express myself in ways I never thought possible,” Zavannah added.
For young people who aspire to become more proficient and successful writers, the Alesna sisters have some advice.
“For those young people who want to start writing, I hope that they see it as a hobby rather than a daily task that must be completed every day, because writing is the only way to express yourself without fear of being judged. So, I encourage the youth to take their first steps in writing to see how it can transform their lives, as it has changed ours,” said Zahara.
“First, read. If you read more, you will get a variety of knowledge that you may apply to your writing, and reading is what encouraged me to write. Second, accept constructive criticism. If you don’t accept criticism, you’ll be too arrogant or self-centered to recognize your mistake or errors in your writing,” said Zavannah. “I want the youth to know that if people try to pull them down because they are still amateurs in writing and aren’t used to it, they should just believe and believe, write and write, read and read, and you’ll do fine.”
The Alesna sisters’ success in the Palanca Awards only proves that age is just a number, and not a hindrance for young people to create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. The twins’ passion for writing helps them achieve their aim of joining the ranks of the country’s best literary writers.
“Our love for writing and reading deepens our connection, bond, and love for each other and that’s something that no one can ever take away from us.”
