How exactly do you balance fandom and responsibilities? You have a commitment to uphold for the latter, but sometimes you couldn’t help but let lose a bit and allow your inner fandom to seep in while carrying out your role. Also, it’s not often that you get to see your idols up close, so moments are truly cherished once those instances happen.
Mat Ibasco, a student of University of Sto. Tomas, took it to his Twitter account how he got to see one the bands he loved listening to growing up live twice. The first was during his senior year in high school, and the other was just recent – during a culminating activity in his college, also in his senior year.
https://twitter.com/ibascomat/status/984448168388575232
“The first picture was taken around October 2013 during Load ‘Em Up, an annual concert in my high school, Claret School of Quezon City. This was in line with the school’s foundation week anniversary. Back then, I was a Citizenship Advancement Training (CAT) officer and we were tasked to be in charge of crowd control for the said event,” Ibasco shares to WHEN IN MANILA.
Despite him being on duty, Ibasco couldn’t pass the opportunity of not having a photo with Callalily, even if the band was just in the background.
“Even if I was on duty, I enjoyed my work since I was a big fan of the band.
Being a 90s kid, I grew up singing their songs. Plus, Callalily ‘yon, sino ba naman tatanggi magka photo op with them ‘di ba?”
Ibasco in 2013, senior year in HS with Kean Cipriano in the background. Photo from Mat Ibasco.
Ibasco in 2018, a senior student in college, mimicking the 2013 photo of his Callalily photo op with with Kean Cipriano also in the background. Photo from Mat Ibasco.
Now at his final year in college, fate would have brought him “together” again with Callalily.
“I was part of our institute’s student council, the University of Santo Tomas Information and Computing Sciences Student Council. We had our college week as we celebrated the 4th founding anniversary of our institute last April 3-7, 2018. On our last day, we had an event called Converge: The ICS General Assembly 2018. We usually conduct this activity to spend a night with our beloved ICS community to bond and enjoy the company of each other,” Ibasco explains.
A “Battle of the Bands” stint as well as other members of the ICS community performed during the said event. Ibasco believes what made the event more exciting on his part was that well-known OPM bands were coming to play.
“As part of the organizing team of the event, we had different tasks. Again one of these is crowd control. And there I was – once again in front of the stage as part of the “human barricade”, while listening to one of my favorite OPM bands performing live on stage. It was amazing.”
Ibasco did not want to miss the opportunity once again to not have a photo with the band. As coincidental as it may seem to be, it was only he realized that after seeing his photo with Callalily in 2013, he had the “exact same photo taken four years ago.”
“That was when I decided to tweet the 2 photos to express my appreciation to this awesome band for the music they share with us,” Ibasco finishes.
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Disclaimer: WheninManila.com does not own the photos. Credits go to Mat Ibasco.
