There were two things in my mind on the day of Click Play, the social media festival: One, what to do when I finally get to see Ryan Higa in the flesh; and two, if I was age-appropriate for the event.
The audience’s average age range was what I had expected (mind you, I am only 24)—flocks of teens mostly, though there were also parents and some titas accompanying their teenagers at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t given the chance to meet Ryan in person, as I didn’t win the meet-and-greet contest.
But I’m not the easily discouraged sort, so the day the YouTube star arrived in Manila, I began stalking him like crazy on all social media platforms, taking screenshots of Snapchats, following updates on Twitter and Instagram, and re-watching all his videos on YouTube. A fangirl’s gotta do what a fangirl’s gotta do.
Hoping that I would eventually bump into him and his crew while they were in the Philippines, I took the effort to prepare gifts for them. With barely a day before Click Play, I rushed to Recto to have a set of customized button pins printed, bought Pinoy snacks for them to try, and packed them all in a brown paper bag.
In case I wouldn’t have been able to hand the goodies to them personally, my plan was to leave the stuff with the Click Play staff. Which I did.
On the day of Click Play, I had a surge of mixed emotions. I felt like I was preparing for a first date, or finally meeting the love of my life that fate had withheld.
After I had lined up for two hours outside the VIP registration area and spent another hour jostling other fans to get nearer the stage, the program started. I also met other “lamps” (what the fandom is called) during the waiting game.
Ryan was the five-hour show’s closing performance. I felt the crowd surging closer to the stage as the show neared its finale, their cameras and handheld phones ready. I wasn’t sure which was more painful at that point—my legs from standing up for hours, or the agony of waiting for Ryan Higa to finally come out on stage.
When the screen blacked out, the audience roared and joined in the countdown: 10! 9! 8!… 3! 2!…
And there he was. From the YouTube screen to the stage, Ryan Higa was finally before me. After eight years of wishful thinking, I was now seeing him in the flesh.
As the Internet best puts it: “Senpai is real.”