ACHIE ANTONIO: “To be with your first love is like winning a grandiose prize.”
Achie is just like anybody else who has experienced to be happy, to love, cry, sacrifice, and to compromise with a lot of things. We interviewed him before regarding with his first love.
“A torturing yet happy and repetitive feeling,” he answered directly while laughing.
Can you share to us when you first experienced that definition of love?
“I have one, but I can’t say that the whole narrative is a torturing one. How do I start with this ba?” He laughed and continued with his answer.
“Siguro, sa first love ko. Disclaimer lang ah, it doesn’t matter naman if naging kayo to call it first love, it’s just how you see and feel the perspective. So going back, I met a boy nung junior high ako, I was his senior student so there was really an age gap between us. He was 13 and I was 16 that time. It was just a small school, but we have different schedules except pag break time. I can vividly remember na we used to see each other sa school coincidentally. But of course lagi akong happy and naka-smile pag nagkakasalubong kami.” He answered.
Can you share to us his name?
“Si Zach. Siya rin yung Zach na nasa vlog ko noon na hinahanap-hanap ng mga tao na maka-collab ko, pero of course it wasn’t feasible. So we became friends and then I fell in love. Siyempre at first ma-pride pa ko, wala di talaga ako umaamin kahit caught in the act na ko. Tapos eventually dumating rin yung obstacles and the 'chance' na para umamin. I eventually did confess and the results were expected to go downhill from there. It costed our friendship pa naman."
If your first love came back, what will you do?
"OMG! Alam mo, it did happen. I loved him for ilang years rin and he will always have this special place in my heart and kaya sabi ko sa sarili ko, 'nako ilang relapse pa mangyayari sakin.' Achie laughed and continued with his story.
"We actually met again in an unexpected time sa FEU, I didn't know na he's a student there and I as an alumnus who came for a visit. I saw him and without a word, I hurriedly approached and embraced him. Sobra ko siyang na-miss. The feeling is parang everything stopped kahit alam kong may nakatingin sa'min." Achie shared a story with a teary eye.
What was the lesson learned there?
"I know a lot of things came between us and he certainly can't reciprocate the same love that I ideally found in him. I might as well assumed that he liked me but [he] fought against it. I won't really know for sure. If given a chance, I would still go for it, I know him naman when he loves someone and yun yung pinaka magandang personality na meron siya. The lesson I learned throught the years when we were completely apart from each other is that, when two connections can't reach yet, you can go with other path. If it's meant to be, time will ultimately give it. Pero alam mo nung day na 'yun, it was his birthday. I said to myself na 'to be with your first love is like winning a grandiose prize."
Is there someone new na ba after Zach?
"Actually ngayon, wala. Although, my doors are open pa naman."
But have you moved on from Zach?
"Honest to goodness, hindi pa. I know for a fact na hinding-hindi na siya mawawala sa heart ko. Siguro ganun talaga ka crazy magmahal when you know it's real and true. The thing is, 'di nga lang siya na-reciprocate and it's the frustrating thing but will leave an impactful lesson."
It was an emotional interview that we had with Achie. It is indeed true that love is really mysterious. In the end, love prevails, but it's not always with the person we ideally would have.