The lights dimmed; the artist rose up from below the stage and contagious exhilaration flooded the crowd. The audience responded with screaming and cheering. As the music filled my ears I knew this would be a moment I would never forget.

July 10, 2017.

I bought the tickets months before and planned to go with three of my best friends. We got ready together at my house during the day, making sure we looked just right for the big night. Later, we took the Sky Train downtown together and when we got to the right station, the train doors opened. We stepped off and a rush of cold air hit our faces. The screams of teenage girl excitement flooded our ears immediately; we knew this was our stop.

We waited in line outside the doors for what seemed like forever. Every step up the stairs inched us closer and closer. We entered the doors of Rogers Arena and inhaled the smell of popcorn, freshly bought merchandise and anticipation. Squeezing through the crammed crowd of people, we made our way to our seats. Jessica and I handed Jamie our tickets and she followed them like a map to our seats. We stepped through the curtains and into our section. Big bold letters across a jumbo screen read, Shawn Mendes Illuminate World Tour.

“I think we’re right here,” Jamie shouted back to us while shuffling through the narrow isle. “Seat 106, this is us,” affirmed Jamie, as she plopped herself in one of our three reserved seats.

“Well, these aren’t too bad huh?” Jessica said trying to put a positive spin on seats that made the artist ant sized. It was true, the seats weren’t great, but I didn’t care; just the fact that we were there was good enough for me. I can’t believe this day is finally here, we bought the tickets in March and it felt like this day would never come. I thought as I wrapped my hands around the cold safety bars in front of our seats and leaned over looking out into the arena at the hundreds of seats as they filled with people who gathered here for the same reason.

After patiently waiting for over half an hour, the overhead lights dimmed, the black stage lit up with flashing strobe lights and Shawn Mendes rose up from a platform beneath the stage. Individual conversations joined together into a constant cheer that rang through my ears. My stomach filled with butterflies, but not the kind you get when you have to give a presentation; the kind when even the food you had for lunch knows something amazing is about to happen. Shawn’s opening song was his newest and most popular; a smart choice in my opinion. It got the whole crowd up on their feet and electrified, we couldn’t wait for what was next. The song’s beat and lyrics fused together, giving my voice the uncontrollable urge to belt out the song along with him.

When we hit the mid point of the concert the tone flipped. A single spotlight on Shawn gleamed down. The crowd went silent. Shawn spoke softly into the microphone and sent chills up my arms and down my back. He explained that the song that he was about to perform held a special place in his heart; we all knew which one. The strumming of his guitar gave the most beautiful melody to one of his most popular slow songs, and everyone brought out their phone flashlights and waved them in sync. The arena transformed into the night sky of only darkness and thousands of small dazzling lights.

As Shawn began to sing, the whole crowd joined in. As we got to the chorus Shawn popped the microphone out of the stand and pointed it out to the crowd. His lyrics continued to echo through the entire arena like surround sound. Together, as a whole, we harmonized to finish the chorus. Swaying side to side in unison. A few simple lines slipped through all of our lips. We were one. We were all there, in the moment. Every. Single. One of us.

That’s why I live. For moments like these. Where is doesn’t matter if you’re the best singer in the world, or the worst. Maybe your older sister dragged you here because she just happened to have another ticket, it doesn’t matter, you’re here. You try to sing along even if you don’t know the words and you belt them out if you know them by heart because you’re a part of something. Of the thousands of people and the thousands of minutes, we all come together for just one, over something so small like a song. In this moment, you take a step back and realize how truly beautiful and wonderful it is. This is why I live.

2 things I did well:

  • Showed instead of told.
  • Voice

 

2 things I need to work on:

  • Being concise and cut out unneeded words
  • Use THAMOS more