Tara Barker

It was 2000, the year when Malaysian Women's Weekly (MWW) was newly introduced to the stores. It was one of the many women's magazines competing for readership, alongside a whole host of magazines on beauty, health, travel, cars, gadgets, you-name-it.

I was thirty, have just had my third baby and was in a state of depression, not post-natal but more because of the financial state we were in. Three children, no job, nothing to look forward to.

I knew things were bad because I had started to recognise each of my neighbours' car sounds. At 8am, one neighbour will be starting her car to go to work. This lady came back at 6pm daily, while her husband leaves for the office a little later and came home close to midnight.

Another car sound meant that another neighbour was getting ready to send his wife to work. This guy had opted for early retirement at the age of 40 after a bad accident, hence he gets to enjoy insurance benefits even without having to work. His wife worked at a supermarket just down the hill where we stayed.

And so on it went. All I could think of in those days was 'everyone is doing something and going somewhere- except me'. I felt trapped and helpless.

That was when I decided to learn how to use the computer. The Word document was a daily experiment, as I struggled to type as fast as I thought. More so when I had to juggle computer 'lessons' with caring for 3 little kids in the background.

I surfed the internet for ways on how to make a living with freelance writing. The top 2 tips were almost always the same- study the publication and get in touch with the editor.

When I read MWW for the first time,  deep down I knew I wanted to write for them. I emailed several story ideas to the magazine editor, as recommended by online sources. But no reply came. It was a disappointing start.

When I bought my next issue of MWW, I noticed an ad inside about some workshop that the magazine was organising. It struck me that this would be the perfect chance for me to meet the editor-in-chief, Tara Barker! My application form and payment was sent within 24 hours.

It was an excellent workshop, by any standards, yet all I did was try to ascertain which one was Tara. And I was shaking, partly due to the cold air-conditioning system, partly because I was scared out of my wits! I've never met an editor before and I had no idea what to say!

During a tea-break, I nervously asked a girl holding a camera (Elizabeth Soong) whether she worked for MWW and which one was Tara. She kindly pointed out a Caucasian lady who was talking to someone. When I told her I wanted to write for MWW, Elizabeth led me over to Tara and introduced me to her.

Very nervously I stammered, "I'm a freelance writer and I love MWW. I'd.. l'd love to write for you."

Tara gazed at me for a moment (probably because I looked ashen!) before asking if I had experience. I told her I was new to writing but I had many story ideas and was a fast-learner. When I mentioned that my emails to her had gone unnoticed, she was very apologetic. Handing me her call card, she told me to write to her using her direct email, promising to get back to me with a reply.

To cut a long story short, Tara replied my emails following that incident. They didn't take many of the story ideas I pitched to them, but she started giving me stories instead.

The assignments grew and grew, until 2003 when Tara finally told me she was tired of micro-managing my ad-hoc invoices.

"How about becoming our contract writer? This way, you'd get to take care of your babies and yet have a regular income writing for us," she said on the phone.

She probably did not realise the impact those words had on me. They meant a sense of security, a promise of monthly revenue without having to sacrifice my maternal responsibilities.

It was the perfect solution for any work-from-home mom, one that was not easily available in Malaysia where employers still see the need to have staff in the office 5 days a week to ensure work gets done. Tara had trusted me like no other, giving me an opportunity to turn my life around.

Fast forward to 2011.

I terminated my retainer contract with MWW just a year ago when I felt I should perhaps give way to someone who needed retainer work more than I did. Ten years of writing had helped in establishing myself as a freelance writer and I want other freelancers to enjoy the privilege I once did.

But I'll never forget the first time I met Tara and the way she changed my life. Truth be told, I never knew her personally because we met less than 5 times over the last decade; yet she always has a kind word for me when we met.

I hear she's a strict boss who is a stickler for discipline and deadlines, so in a way, I'm glad I'm not a full-time staff. But that's what made it all the more meaningful. She never knew me, but she gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. How many people would do that for a total stranger?

If you're a MWW fan/reader, you may know that MWW's slogan is 'For women who want it all'. What you may not know is that Tara, as the editor-in-chief, embraces this philosophy by encouraging women to strive for their full potential. That's why MWW often features inspirational stories of women- so that readers will also be inspired to do things they never knew they could.

Are you another Tara Barker? If you are someone in authority, remember you have the power to make a difference in someone else's life. Like Tara, you could have saved a marriage and a family from falling apart. You could have given another woman the much-needed self-confidence to move into uncharted waters.

For all the Tara's out there, I salute you. For the rest of us, we'll never know if something we did had made us a Tara of sorts. Perhaps there's a hidden Tara in each of us, waiting to be let out.

Happy New Year and may 2011 be a glorious year ahead!