The Ticket that Changed My Life | Teen Ink

The Ticket that Changed My Life

May 22, 2015
By IlleanaCarrillo BRONZE, South San Francisco, California
IlleanaCarrillo BRONZE, South San Francisco, California
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

The last few years have been very transitional for me. Growing from a young girl who hasn't experienced many exciting events in her life is now becoming a young adult who is ready to explore the world. One of the main things that really helped me to find myself in this time was music. Music helped me find myself because it was an easy way to express how I felt. A band that I came upon that really inspired me was a band called Paramore. Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee. This was an unusual type of music for me to be listening to because I was always used to the young pop music that would play on the radio, and now I was listening to a more adult alternative/rock music. Over the course of eight months I became obsessed and was convinced I was their number one fan. From now on all I did was eat, breath, sleep Paramore.


Since it my eighth grade year and I was graduating my mom promised me she would get me a present. The second she promised me this I already knew exactly what I wanted, Paramore tickets. Paramore was playing on August 17, 2014 at the Concord Pavilion and it was now my goal to go.  As the school year passed by my Paramore obsession grew larger, but my time was running out to get these tickets. I had hope my mom would get these tickets as a graduation present for me , but as a backup plan I saved every last penny just in case.


Graduation day had finally came. It was a very emotional day, so Paramore tickets were the very last thing on my mind surprisingly. After the Baccalaureate Mass had ended during the day, my family and I went home. I went straight straight to my room to take off my itchy, lace, turquoise dress I had worn for the mass. After I changed into something a little more comfortable my parents came in my room and handed me a card. They smiled, grinned at each other, and then quietly left the room. My heart was racing because it felt as if my life was in this card. I was hesitantly opened it  and the first thing that slipped out of the card were Paramore tickets. My heart immediately dropped to the ground and tears of joy were running down my face.  I was now able to live my life without the stress of getting these tickets.


     I now had 78 days to wait for my first rock concert ever! The wait seemed like years, but this gave me a chance to learn every lyric to every song on their albums. As I listened to there music over and over again, I was able to learn valuable life lessons hidden into each of their songs. Overall Paramore’s music taught me to be myself because that's the only person I can be and to express it. Even though I wasn’t able to exactly relate to every song, I was able to learn great advice from a woman figure, Hayley Williams, who is strong and fierce.


August 17, 2014 had now arrived  and I woke up feeling as if I was still dreaming because I had waited  so long for this day and now it  had finally come. As I started to get ready I had no clue what to wear, then it hit me. Why not dress like my idol and the star of the show, Hayley Williams. To dress like her I wore a white and black striped, cropped tank top, black high waisted shorts, with black tights underneath and some plain black chucks. After I got ready I felt like a million bucks and I was ready to experience one of my favorite moments in life so far.


         I walked into the car most confident as ever. The 1 hour long drive to the concert felt like 1000 years because the traffic was terrible, but I was glad it took forever because I wasn't sure if I could handle this. As my dad pulled up to the parking lot he gave me the most boring lecture about drugs and alcohol, which I already heard more than enough times. He gave me a kiss goodbye on my forehead and yelled out the window, "be safe". Excited but nervous I stepped out and now I was on my own.


        My friend Natayla and I met up at the front of the pavilion, where the workers would collect our tickets. The line for the ticket collecting wasn't  too long and now we had entered in what we felt like would be a Disneyland for rockers. Everyone was running around trying to get to their seats in in time for the opening act. Our seats were the first row after the general admission, which wasn't far at all. The opening act was a band named New Politics. You could tell many people didn't know who they were, but everyone seemed to be really into them. Their music was good, but I'm pretty sure all the girls were just  staring at the gorgeous lead singer, who had an accent which made him so much hotter.


5,4,3,2,1 Paramore came on with one of their hit  songs, "Still Into You." They came on full force with so much energy. Natayla and I were dancing around, and the best part was I knew every lyric to every song, which is something I was embarrassed I wouldn't know. Whenever anyone I swear I could hear my heartbeat louder the music playing


Going to this concert changed my life because it gave me a chance to see a band that truly inspired me. I have learned so many life lessons from their songs and will continue to learn more because of them. Paramore is a band that has gone through many rough patches, like me, but has come out of them and have done many great things because of them.



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