Two Worlds, Spinning Apart… From Riri: “Hi, I’m Riri, and I’m an Archie fan from Indonesia. Nice to meet you!” I wrote something of that line to a Twitter persona called @iparsum around 4 years ago. I was a 9th grader, and I was brand new to Twitter. I had no friends, no family relatives, no one I personally knew that was on Twitter. There was only one reason as to why I jumped into the social media world of Tweeting – David Archuleta. I was – and still am – crazy about David Archuleta, ever since I discovered him on American Idol. I followed every news about him, listened to all of his songs, watched all of his videos and read everything I could about him on the internet. So, when David made a Twitter account and I heard what it was all about, I didn’t bat an eye and made myself a Twitter account too. David was the first person I followed on Twitter. Then, as I was scrolling through his page, I saw him reply to a couple of fans. Immediately, I tweeted those two fans, introducing myself, in the hope of gaining new friends who were as crazy about David as I was. That is how, against all odds, I met with Calynn. She responded to me almost immediately. We talked a little bit on Twitter, and shared a few stories and obsessions over David. I was glad that I had someone to talk to on Twitter, and a fellow Archie fan too, at that. I can’t precisely remember how, but finally we decided to connect through e-mail. We got to know each other on a personal level and we shared even more stories about ourselves. I told Calynn about Indonesia, and she told me about her newly born grandson. We became closer and she would e-mail me pictures of her grandson as he grew over the years. We sent each other e-cards and greetings over our birthdays. It was like having a new friend, a friend that lived far away but I held dear in my heart. Then, one time, Calynn did something that really surprised me – she told me she was going to send me David memorabilia from the US! She snapped a picture and showed me what she was going to send: a t-shirt, a David necklace, posters, postcards, and the My Kind of Christmas CD, among the few. You could only imagine my excitement. I couldn’t believe that Calynn would do something that nice for me. She even sent me more stuff when we thought the earlier package failed to arrive in Indonesia. Over the next four years, Calynn and I continued to connect via e-mail and Twitter. We shared pictures from our lives. We Skyped and were both glad to finally be able to see each other’s faces and actually speak to each other. Calynn also continued to send me David-related gifts over the years. She sent me an autographed copy of David’s book, Chords of Strength, for my junior high graduation present. She sent me some more posters and postcards. She even offered to give David my letter. And guess what? David wrote back to me and gave me his autograph – twice! As a major fan, I can’t tell you how thrilling it was to receive two personally signed letters from David himself. I keep those two pieces of paper safely in my drawer, and I have Calynn to thank for them. In addition to all the great things Calynn did for me, she did something even greater. At the end of 2009, I published my first book, a novel titled Raising Your Voice. It was written during my years of David Archuleta obsession, and the main character of the story was based on David. He was simply my idol. Knowing this fact, Calynn offered to give my book to David when she came to his concert in a few months. I instantly agreed. A few months later, I received an e-mail with an attached picture. It was a picture of David holding my book. I simply couldn’t believe it. I was overjoyed. Moreover, I was confused. How could someone who had never even met me in person be so kind to me? How could Calynn be willing to do all these things for me, a mere high school kid, a Twitter friend that lived thousands of miles away? We continued our online friendship. Several times I would buy her gifts from Indonesia, small souvenirs that I would send through my Aunt, who lives in Los Angeles. But trading news and gifts, even chatting online, simply wasn’t enough. We still hadn’t met each other; we still hadn’t talked face-to-face. But for the time being, it was all we could do. Let me tell you that I have always wanted to study in the US. It’s been my dream since I was ten years old, and last year, this dream finally came into realization. I got accepted into a community college in Seattle. Plans were made. I would travel to the US, and I would stay for a few weeks with my Aunt and her family in Los Angeles. When I told Calynn this news, both of us were excited. We could finally meet in person, now that we were in the same country! Calynn immediately told me that she would make arrangements to visit me in Los Angeles. And she did. She drove all the way from her home in Sacramento to Los Angeles with the sole purpose to meet me. We decided we would have lunch together on Saturday, August 31st. That Saturday afternoon, when the doorbell to my Aunt’s house rang, I felt somewhat nervous. What do you say to someone you’ve only talked to online for four years? What would she really be like? What would she think of me? What if things got awkward between us? It was all a jumble of feelings as I opened the door and see Calynn for the first time. My first thought was, “She’s even prettier in person.” I had only Skyped with her once, and I saw lots of pictures of her, but once she was standing in front of me, I was surprised by how beautiful she really was. She was dressed in a simple white knee-length dress, and she seemed so graceful as she shook hands with my Aunt’s family and hugged me. I really couldn’t believe that I could finally meet this incredible woman in person. That I could talk to her directly and looked into her face instead of reading her words online. It was surreal, yet tremendously exciting. She has a soft and lovely voice, and her eyes glowed as she explained about our friendship and David Archuleta to my Aunt and Uncle. We had lunch together. We sat down across from each other, ate, and talked about everything: family, life in Indonesia and Sacramento, my school and, of course, David Archuleta. It was simply amazing how easily we conversed with each other. All of my fears of our meeting being awkward was completely wiped out. Calynn was simply a nice person, a wonderful friend to talk to. All throughout lunch I still couldn’t believe that this meeting was really happening. Time flew, and before we even noticed it, we had spent more than two hours together. Calynn kindly dropped me back to my Aunt’s place. We took pictures together, the two of us finally able to stand side-by-side. She hugged me again, shared promises of e-mailing each other afterwards, and then she left. I watched her drive away with a strange feeling. It was the first time we met, but I felt like we had been really good friends for a long time. I keep thinking how strange it is that two strangers, living two worlds apart, could be brought together by a fine young man named David Archuleta. And I’m not only talking about me and Calynn. Fans of David span across the globe. I’ve befriended Archie fans from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Cyprus, the UK, Canada, and many different states in the USA. Even my fellow Indonesian Archie fans live all over the country. There is such a wide network of Archies all over the world that I feel like I have friends everywhere. That I have a family I can connect with once I sign on to the Twitter universe. It’s really incredible, how one person could bring so many people together. How he can turn strangers into friends, and friends into family. How people from all four corners of the world can come together and share one another’s company. Even now, when he is still on his mission, his fan base continues to grow, and his supporters continue to celebrate one another’s existence. One thing I know for sure: David Archuleta has brought a special friend into my life. I am reminded of a line in one of David’s songs, To Be With You: “and I can’t imagine two worlds spinning apart, come together eventually.” That’s what it felt like when I met Calynn. Two worlds, spinning apart, eventually pulled together by a link that is David Archuleta. My friendship with Calynn is something I treasure, and it will continue to grow. Thanks for that, David.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 07:18:29 +0000