About Khadijah Maulion Masorong
I believe so strongly that we are all unique human beings, each with our own paths in life. In a world where you can be anything, be yourself, for everyone else is taken. One movie quote that I really like is, “Live a little.” One of my favorite lines from my own fiction book is even simpler: “Live a wild and beautiful life.”
For instance, I wear a lot of hats, which is another way of saying that I do a lot of things to make sense of the world around me. I am a naturally curious author, writer, web designer, web developer, and software engineer who survives on caffeine, whether that means matcha green tea or some other variant of caffeine, such as Nescafe instant black coffee, which, not sardonically, is the only caffeine that truly makes sense to me. I also survive on the texture of books in the digital ether and physical copies, and the whiff of a cat’s smell, which is like heaven sighing to me.
Here in the Philippines, we are accustomed to traditional craftspeople whose work is often visible through the callouses on their hands, people who make doormats, trinkets, furniture, woven goods, and all kinds of beautiful handicrafts. I am similar in some peripheral way because I have made an honest and modest livelihood through books I have written with my own hands, books that I can hold, touch, and experience with my senses. There is something deeply satisfying about creating something that did not exist before and eventually being able to hold it in your hands.
In my spare time, like a spare car tire, my right hand does not know how much my left hand has given, and vice versa. Over the years, I have given to orphanages, street children and their families, the elderly, women seeking livelihood opportunities, widows, and people who are on the fringes of society. My logic is simple: I never want anyone to feel as though they have been forgotten by society. Sometimes it does not take much. People on the streets have actually smiled at me simply because I gave them a cookie. That smile can stay with you much longer than you expect.
My favorite food is beef pares, tenderly cooked beef simmered for several hours until the meat practically melts in your mouth. Its taste cannot easily be contained by a poverty of vocabulary when it is cooked just right, and the stew is simply the icing on the cake. In a strange way, it reminds me of the beautiful ways God has arranged my heart through my unique experiences in life. Manila itself feels like a melting pot, no pun intended, of food, beverages, languages, art, people, contradictions, and real life. I think I have become a little like the city that raised me.
For me, life is a precious miracle. Perhaps the journey was never about arriving at the end of the road. Perhaps it was about becoming the kind of person worthy of the journey. I even wrote a book called My Journey, a self-help and inspirational book, because the idea of becoming, rather than simply arriving, has always meant something to me.
My work and personal projects are an extension of that curiosity. I like building things, returning to them, improving them, and seeing how they evolve over time.