Last November 23, 2014, my friends and I got the chance to meet Marie Lu. Yes, reader. You read that right. Marie Lu. As in the New York Times bestselling author of the Legend Trilogy. She visited the Philippines to meet us, sign our books and promote the first book of her new dystopian series, The Young Elites. Oh my, she’s incredibly nice, not to mention how beautiful she looked. I couldn’t help but act starstruck when I met her. Don’t laugh at me, okay? Lol. You can’t blame me. That wonderful soul who put that beautiful story into printed words was right in front of my eyes(!!!) Super cool beans. But what really made my day super awesome was the fact that I got to see my friends again. Reader, do you see that girl on the bottom-left photo? That’s Rochelle. We’ve been online friends for quite a few years and we’ve created this alliance that’s so close to that of biological siblings’. How cool is that? Anyway, that’s the second time we got to hang out and thank God it was longer than the first time (the first time was during the Manila International Book Fair, which I totally forgot to write about). I missed her. Hi, twin! By any chance, if you’re reading this right now, I’m sending you all the love from here. Lol. On the bottom right photo are the Fangirls. They’re like my soul sisters. There was never a day they didn’t fill my group chat with hundreds and hundreds of messages, and I am more than willing to back read every single message or emoji on that thread. I have this profound admiration to these people not just because of their love of books but because they’re interesting and nice. I learn so much from them. If there’s one thing that I really am grateful of this year, despite everything that has happened, it’s my new found friendship with these people. We’ve got this bond so tight that not even the strongest of storms can ruin. Why am I so cheesy?
Staying in line for more than three hours before the registration and waiting for another four hours for the signing was no joke, but with them everything was bearable. I missed them. That was a day filled with stories, laughter, inside jokes, food trip, picture-taking and book discussion. Of course crushing on cute author pictures on random books inside the bookstore was a must too! Lol. After the event, we went to Ayala Triangle to watch the light and sound festival. It was awesome. I wish I had recorded at least a few seconds of it, but I was too absorbed by how magical it all was. (Plus I was with my friends so I was deeply happy to do anything.) I can’t wait for our Christmas party!!! Until next time, reader! DFTBA!
Friends are the best anti-depressants; with only positive effects, no side-effects. ― Piyush Kaviraj
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