So it was 26 years ago today – April 20, 1993 – that the Backstreet Boys first were the final reincarnation of the group. Brian Littrell flew down from Kentucky to Orlando and performed with the other four members for the first time.
And the magic was born.
Have you ever thought about where you would be if Brian’s parents refused to let him fly to Orlando alone? Then he would never have become a Backstreet Boy and would they even still have made it as a group?
Sometimes I think about these things because there’s a part of me that believes everything happens for a reason. I believe that they were meant to be at Grad Nite in 1998 and I was meant to fall in love with them. I believe they were brought into my life when I needed something real and positive to focus on instead of all the negativity that was going on in my life.
Because what’s more positive than a boy band? Right?
I believe I fell into writing fan fiction to really double down on my love of writing, which lead to journalism, which led to my career for almost 10 years. I believe helping support them online and on social media lead me to my new career in marketing.
I’ve said it before, but if it weren’t for the Backstreet Boys, I really don’t believe I would be sitting here right now typing this on their 26th anniversary. I probably would have really went through with it years ago to just end everything.
But because of these five guys – this boy band – this vocal harmony group – I’m still here, about to turn 39 years old. It’s because of these five guys that I met my best friends, that I finally feel like I belong to something bigger than I am. It’s because of these five guys that I’ve gotten to experience things that I only dreamed of.
I know I’m only one of a million faces they see in a year, on a tour, or in Vegas, wherever, but there’s a connection I have with the Backstreet Boys that is bigger than anything I’ve ever been a part of. When I became a fan in 1998, when I learned, oh, Nick Carter is my age and he loves Journey like I do, that any of those five guys would remember me or even know my name.
That’s really stuff fans only dream of and I feel so lucky and privileged to have experienced everything that I have experienced with the boys.
So on this day – the 26th anniversary of them singing together for the first time – I say THANK YOU, BACKSTREET BOYS!
Thank you for saving my life.
Thank you for giving me something to look forward to.
Thank you for my best friends.
Thank you for the music.
Thank you for the magic.
And most of all, thank you for being you.
Love,
Karah
@Princess_Karah
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