On December 17, 2018, I got the privilege to go to my first concert, which was Z100 Jingle Ball, with my best friends, Taylor and Amanda. My first concert experience was unforgettable.
Prior to the Concert
The process of getting the tickets began months before the show. The opportunity to buy tickets to Z100’s Jingle Ball is almost nearly impossible. Therefore, we tried everything from calling the radio station and even entering online contests. Unfortunately, we always fell short of the tickets, and we were out of time. Meanwhile, our parents already purchased the tickets two months in advance of the concert. Throughout this entire time, our families kept this secret from us until the night of the concert.
The Day of Jingle Ball
When December 17 finally arrived, we planned to watch the concert on TV later that night together. To our surprise, we got picked up from school early for an unexpected “dentist” appointment. We tried bugging our parents so much that they would eventually tell us what was going on. But we were unsuccessful and finally gave up. I knew something was up when my mom told me to dress nice and pack a bag. She took my phone away so I couldn’t text my friends to see what they were doing. An hour later, my friends arrive at my house with balloons and huge smiles on their faces. We stood in my driveway while our parents told us that we were going to the Jingle Ball concert that night.
After much excitement, we left for the city together in my friend, Taylor’s car. Not only were we going to the concert, but we were spending the night in the city as well. The car ride felt so long, but as soon as we exited the tunnel, the entire situation felt so surreal. First, we went to our hotel to check-in and dropped our stuff off in our room. It wasn’t long until we were back on the street, walking towards Madison Square Garden. There was still about 3 hours before we had to be there, so we decided to go out to eat before we went inside.
During the Concert
The time had finally come, and we were saying goodbye to our parents before entering the building. I was a little nervous because I’ve never been to such a massive event with an adult. However, my excitement made it easy for me to forget about my nerves. Walking into such a big arena packed with millions of people took my breath away. Luckily, we made a perfect time and didn’t have to wait too long online for a tee-shirt. After we bought our shirts, we found our seats. There was still some time before the concert was going to start so we took pictures and called our parents to show them we were safe.
Once the lights went out, I had a rush of adrenaline inside me. The lineup had a bunch of my favorite singers from that year, and I couldn’t believe that I was there at that moment. The lineup consisted of Cardi B, Shawn Mendes, Camilla Cabello, Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa, G-Eazy, Normani, Alessia Cara, Megan Trainer, and many more. Each artist sang three to four of their most popular songs over the past year. The concert went by way too fast, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
After the Concert
After the concert, we were waiting for the crowd to clear out before leaving. We gradually made our way outside, where Taylor’s mom was waiting for us. We couldn’t wait to tell her all about the concert and how much fun we had. Instead of going back to the hotel, we decided to walk around the city for a bit. The time flew by, and we ended up at the Rockefeller Christmas tree. We hung around there for a while. Then we walked back to the hotel because it was almost two in the morning. My friends and I barely slept that night, and we still couldn’t believe how amazing our night went. That night was by far one the best days of my life, and I wouldn’t change my first concert experience for anything else.
