Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
– Mahatma Gandhi
I wish more people understood why I love going to concerts so much. They think it’s a hobby and in a way, it is, but to me, going to concerts is almost as essential is air and water. Since I was in fourth grade, which I guess I was 9-years-old, concerts have been my life.
Going to a concert is like going to church to me. It’s where I go to feel connected to something so great that it’s hard to explain. To be in the crowd when an artist is on stage performing is like listening to a preacher preach on a Sunday morning. My Bible verses are the lyrics to a favorite song.
Even during high school, I was the girl that went to concerts. Where I grew up, concerts rarely came around back then, so I was always going to Tallahassee or Orlando or Tampa for a concert. Instead of going out and trying to smoke cigarettes or drink illegally, I was the girl going backstage to meet one of her favorite singers.
And even now, at 36, going to concerts are my safe place. I haven’t been to as many this year as I usually do and I feel like I need that connection. I long for it. I need that excitement of the lights going down and someone coming out on stage.
My Granny always said it was a waste of money. “They look just like they do on television, so watch them there,” she would say. She died when I was 15, my sophomore year in high school. I had been to a handful of concerts at that point in my life. If she knew how many concerts I went to after she died, just to get through a day or weekend when I was depressed, she would probably roll over in her grave.
I remember my first concert like it was yesterday. It was New Kids on the Block on their “Summer Magic” tour. We had nosebleeds, but I swore that Joey McIntyre pointed up at me and sung to me. I obviously know now that’s not true, but to me, in that moment, it felt like it happened. I was seeing five guys that I loved and looked up to. I still can’t fathom the idea that I’ve met New Kids on the Block now. I can’t fathom that I told Joey McIntyre that the six-year-old Karah was having her dreams come true at that very moment. I can’t believe that I’ve seen them front row.
It’s those feelings that make sitting online for 30 minutes with three computers and your phone, worth it. A concert isn’t just going to see the artist. It’s anticipating it and making plans with friends to go. It’s picking out that outfit or making a sing for the show. It’s listening to the artist’s albums on repeat for a week before the show.
I’m probably going to always be known as the girl that goes to concerts and I’m okay with that. A lot of people will never find what truly makes them happy. I have and it’s concerts.