Souvenirs Inoubliables

There were memories that are worth forgetting, maybe because that's something awkward, something disappointing, something different, or anything that made us feel bad; it even said it was our mood changer. On the other hand, there were also incomparable memories that we wish we wouldn't meet at the finish line or the end point, or something that we wish to happen again, and those kinds of memories are worth keeping.

It was the 4th of August 2017 when I tried something I've been wanting to do for the past few years, and then the opportunity knocked on me, so I opened the doors widely for that. Just like the date, I also have four incomparable memories that happened all in one day. 1. I was able to go around Araneta, Cubao, alone. 2. I met new people (which I can call friends). 3. I finally met Bea De Leon (my favorite volleyball player). 4. I learned a lot.

It was only 4:00 in the morning when I and my sister left the house. We were trying to avoid the heavy traffic along the road, and that's why we did. We left the house that early because my sister has an 8:00 class, and the travel time takes almost 3 hours from our location to Quezon City. So I arrived at Araneta at 7:30 am, and then the call time was 9:30. The excitement on my face was very evident, right?

So I'll start from scratch here.

Since I was that early bird, I've been at the meeting place two hours before the assembly time. Malls and other restaurants were closed except for those who were offering breakfast meals (including Ally's all-day breakfast). I walked around the Araneta Center to look for a place to sit and eat. Through walking around, I've discovered the beauty of that place: a lot of buildings, palm trees, and very accurate painted walls. Araneta was a busy yet satisfying place to be (especially when you love to be in the city). It was already 10:00 in the morning when someone messaged the group, "Meron na po bang nasa Araneta? I answered that I'm already there, so I went back to the meeting place and saw a girl wearing a pink blouse and confirmed that she's the one I've talked to in the group chat. We talked a lot, not just about fangirling life but also about our personal lives. Then suddenly I felt some comfortable feelings while we were talking (that's a sign that she's a good friend), and when we were already complete, we rode to a train going to Katipunan. We waited for almost more than an hour at the venue, but after waiting, it was all worth it as I saw the person I looked up to in terms of volleyball, none other than Isabel Beatriz Paras De Leon. We were there to celebrate her 22nd birthday, and it's my pleasure to be at that celebration. The fast food chain has prepared some games (I was picked to be the player in one of those games), but the highlight of the day is the game prepared by Bea and her mom, Tita Det (a Q&A-liked game), wherein there were questions asked by Bea, then the fans would answer them; the first one to answer would be the winner, and the prize was an old, used, and signed shirt by Bea, and luckily I won one shirt. After the fun and exciting games, we ate our lunch, and I'm not even in the mood to eat because I'm still amazed at whatever is happening at the moment. I spent the whole time looking at her chinky eyes, and it even made me more satisfied, until we got a photo opportunity with her (a solo and group picture). Before the celebration came to an end, the celebrant herself gave a sweet, fruitful, and inspiring message to all of us (her fans).

Going back to Araneta, I'm also with my constants, and I call them "ate."

While lying down in the bed of our hotel room, there's a lot of realizations syncing into my mind. I know that my heart was full, because I've never been that happy since the time I started fangirling. "That's what you get when you wait. It was just a matter of waiting for the right time to be with someone you prayed to have interacted with. There's no other phrase more accurate to describe this experience than "it was all worth it."

This one's for the book.