So I’ll just begin this story with my Believe Tour ticket purchase. It was a sunny day in May (no pun) and I was anxious as all hell. We’d got late notice about the on sale dates but my credit card was ready. I’d met a friend on Tumblr a few months earlier; we had video-chatted frequently and decided to go to the concert together. We met up and we’ve became really great friends! I bought us two tickets for Wednesday, November 21, 2012 for the Palace of Auburn Hills. Section 115, row DD, seats 11 and 12. It was six months away but I don’t think I could have been more excited to see Justin Bieber live!
I spent the next 180 days getting my outfit together, studying the seating chart to see just how close we’d be and just plain ‘fangirling.’ If you’re unfamiliar with this term, it’s the excitement, cheering and screaming you see a lot of Justin’s fans do regularly because of his perfection. The shrieking and crying may seem strange to you, but being a Belieber for most of us (especially legal ones like myself) is more than just that. Get to know us, you’ll see.
Moving on. Our stop was a couple months into the tour. Once it actually got underway it was amazing to see the show go down in videos! Almost every performance was captured. I couldn’t wait to see it in person. Our seats weren’t super close but we were going to have an awesome view all the same. The days ticked on, the countdown continued and thinking about this show pretty much consumed my entire existence.
During the six month waiting period, we came across several contests to win Meet & Greet passes. Most Beliebers’ dream is to meet the man himself and we were no different. We entered as many as we could, including the one from the official fan club BieberFever.com. We crossed our fingers and hoped for the best for November 21st.
In October, my concert partner and I decided to reserve a hotel room near the venue. I confess, the real reason I was into this idea was because a lot of other Beliebers we talk to on Twitter were traveling to shows and getting hotels and I thought that would be the most fun idea! With the room booked I was even further lost in anticipation for this show. I couldn’t breathe every time I thought about it.
Finally the day came to check in. I went to work, concentrated as best I could, got everything done and then headed right out the The Palace. My friend arrived a little later than me and we met up in the room and checked out all it offered. It was a nice hotel. We were waiting to hear from BieberFever to see if we were lucky; they emailed you 24 hours before to inform you if you won. I’d gotten my hair and eyebrows done but I hadn’t done a thing to my nails so we went to a nearby mall to fix that and pass the time. Not five minutes into my primping, I got a sharp tap on the shoulder.
“Lauren, we won, OH MY GOD WE WON!”
I will never forget this moment. I couldn’t breathe. A Korean man was holding my fingers, gently scrubbing them with a solution. I couldn’t scream, I didn’t want to jump up and freak out. So I stayed calm, bouncing my leg on the ball of my foot. My hands were shaking, I don’t really even know how this guy was finishing my nails. I was even more geeked about getting them done now because I’d be meeting my favorite musician in person and I had to look extra good. It’s what dreams are made of.
Later that night we video chatted with a couple of our friends from out of town in the hotel since I’d brought my computer. We ordered pizza but I could barely eat, my stomach was doing 300 somersaults. We got about five hours of actual sleep that night; I woke up around 5:30am the morning of the big day, my stomach immediately knotting knowing I was meeting Justin in a matter of hours. I finally gave up and got out of bed two hours later and my friend did the same. Neither of us were any better; our nervousness was actually a lot worse.
We ate breakfast, got ready for the day and headed out to Meijer after checking out of the hotel. We both got him a card that we wrote personalized ‘Thank You’ messages in. The wait from then until the M&G line actually began moving was, for lack of a better word, torturous. The venue staff at The Palace will call actually gave us a bit of the run around too. But we got our wristbands and queued, preparing to meet Justin Drew Bieber. Since we had to go in groups of six or more as winners and not VIP buyers, we went with two teenage girls and a family.
My hands shook, my breathing was fast and my friend was tearing up. The suspense was killing me; what would he wear? Would he see our letters? Would I be able to hug him? We knew we wouldn’t have much time in the room. While queuing we saw his road manager Kenny Hamilton, Aretha Franklin who’d come to see the show, and his director/videographer Alfredo Flores. We didn’t say much to any of them because they all looked to be distracted and in a hurry. We queued for a while longer, moving up stairs and then stopping and then moving again and then stopping again. The torture was becoming unbearable.
Finally the line moved steadily; we walked past a crowd of people waiting to enter the arena, oblivious to the fact that we were walking in to meet who they’d all come to see. I felt for them. On the opposite side of the stairs leading up instead of down, groups of girls started pouring out slowly, clutching their chests and breathing heavily. A few even let out quiet squeals. I almost lost my nerve right then; those girls had just come out from meeting Justin and I had to watch them. As if it was possible for my nerves to get worse.
It wasn’t too much longer before we were just outside the door. I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to steal a glance. I stood on my tiptoes and squirmed a bit and there he was; gold chain and black shirt. His hair perfectly coiffed. He was positively glowing. My heart started pounding its heaviest yet, I couldn’t believe he was so close. 90 seconds later we were walking into the room ourselves, my friend and I the last two inside furthest from Justin. We heard a voice count down three, two, one and I saw a bright flash of light and smiled toward it. Everyone else in our group began filing out and before I could figure out what was going on I heard a soft and deep, raspy voice very close to me: “Thank you.” I was floored. Figuratively and very close to literally.
He was there. In the flesh, right next to me. My goal was a hug, I’d said that to myself from the moment I found out I’d be going in that room. Hug. him. So I did; I threw my arms out to him and he took me into his. His embrace was like nothing else I’d ever felt. I said as close to his ear as possible “I love you.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say in ten seconds. I couldn’t hear if he responded or not. I reluctantly let him go and kept the line moving. My friend came behind me and as I looked back I could see security ripping her off of him. Palace security could really lighten up a bit; all she wanted to do was hug him and it would’ve taken all of five more seconds. But it was perfect; she told me later that he grabbed her hand and squeezed it as security was pulling her away.
The concert itself was, needless to say, incredible. His voice is amazing live and he puts one intense show! The pyrotechnics and lighting are all on point and there’s not a moment you’ll want to sit down. Being as big a fan as I am of Justin’s music, it meant the world to me to meet him in person. Literally the entire world; I wouldn’t have traded that M&G bracelet for any amount of money. Maybe I am crazy (yeah I know what you’re thinking); it’s true, I’m crazy about him and his music because it’s that good.
Things like this don’t happen to people like me. My dream came true; for five seconds of my life the prince of pop was in my arms. Mine. It’s something I’ll forever be grateful for, that needs to humble me because so many females want the same thing I experienced. To most it’s just some fan meeting a celebrity. To Beliebers like myself, it was the dream of a lifetime becoming reality. Justin’s music is like sunshine; it’s the light at the end of a dark tunnel. It’s an umbrella on a rainy day.
I now know that dreams do come true. I learned that if I want it bad enough, if I work hard enough for it anything  is possible. No one is standing in the way of what I want except me. Justin will never know what he’s done for me.
I took this chance and it paid off in the best way.
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