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Inquirer.net's Love.Life. feature: "Ode to A Great Love's 17-year-old Self"

February 18, 2015    |    0 COMMENT(S)



"Could a grand romance blossom from a juvenile crush?"
So goes the Inquirer's byline for my article. And the answer: a resounding YES.


Tonight, I found out that a piece I wrote got published in Inquirer.net's "Love.Life." column. I came home from a long day of class (9:00 am to 8:00 pm on Wednesdays), tired, hungry, and all kinds of sleepy. Imagine my surprise and complete excitement when I opened my e-mail and saw a message from the Inquirer saying that my essay went online a few hours ago! I went completely nuts! I was jumping around and dancing like a crazed maniac! My mom, who dropped by to visit since it's a holiday tomorrow, couldn't hold back her laughter because I went from exhausted to ecstatic in less than five seconds :D

Back story: Last Sunday, I couldn't bring myself to sleep for some reason. Usually, what I'd do is try to finish off my remaining digests for the week, but since I've already submitted my assignments a few days before Valentine's, I had a bit of free time on my hands. (Which is a luxury nowadays!) I've always enjoyed reading long-form / non-fiction columns like New York Times' "Modern Love" and The Rumpus' "True Romantic," and after months (months!) of not having written anything, I decided to just give it a go.

I only had one thing in mind at the time — it's post-Valentine's and almost Ludwin's birthday, and I haven't thought of a gift for him at all. So, I wrote him a letter - the form of which has always been special to me since I wrote my thesis about it - and thought it would make for a wonderful surprise. A few hours later, as luck would have it, I came across an article in the Inquirer, calling for submissions for their new column.

And now, here we are. After the last few (very trying) weeks, it feels great to be affirmed like this, in a medium that has always made me feel welcome: writing. Call it serendipity, fate, kismet - whatever else - but I guess like in most things, timing plays its cue when you most need it, but least expect it.

What a feeling :)


"He has this habit of walking by the wrong side of the road. Gentleman as he is, he insists on placing me on the side of the pavement where plants grow and cars won’t hit me, or at least not right away. He unconsciously touches my elbows every time he moves towards the more dangerous edge of the sidewalk, as if to say, “You belong where the road can’t hurt you.”

This is how we met; this is how I first got to know him.

At 16, I didn’t think I was going to meet a great love. Not on the first week of class. Not in PE. Not at 4:30 in the afternoon, when I finally pulled my hair up in a messy ponytail because my bangs just would not cooperate.

The professor wanted us to pair up with someone from the opposite sex, and he paired us up alphabetically. For a convent school-raised girl, this seemed interesting. Our surnames happened to start with the same letter—B. As in, boy this is going to be fun. I looked at him and forced myself to hide a smile. B, as in, Backstreet Boy haircut, parted down the middle a la Nick Carter. B, as in, better find a way to fix my hair on Fridays because there’s going to be a cute boy walking beside me for an entire semester.

He said hi. Cue pleasantries."


— an excerpt from Ode to a Great Love's 17-year-old Self, Love.Life., Inquirer.net


(You can read the entire article here.)


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Thank you, Inquirer! It's a great honor to be recognized by you again :) You have made one boy very, very happy with this pleasant little surprise!



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