For my seventh birthday, I got Spice Girls concert tickets from my mom. I went with her, her best friend and her best friend’s daughter (who happened to also be my friend). We ended up being allowed to sit in the front row because I could not see while sitting in my little wheelchair. It was incredible being that close to a musical group I loved so much. Little did I know that was only the beginning.

When I was 10, my mom took me to see Aaron Carter and A*teens. When I was 13, she took me to see Hilary Duff. Each time, the experience was more and more amazing. Had I been able to reach just a few inches more, I would’ve been able to shake Hilary Duff’s hand from where I sat against the stage as she reached out. I cried when she pointed at me while singing. I didn’t think it could get any better.

During the summer of 2007, when I was almost 16, I went to my first rock concert. I went with my mom, stepdad, sister, cousin and a friend. Considering the last concert I had been to was a Disney star, this show was very different. The opening band screamed a lot, and I remember thinking it was awkward how much they said the f-word while my mom and younger sister were there. The rest of the show was Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace and Chris Cornell. After Breaking Benjamin sang, they announced that they would be signing autographs out at a table. My sister, cousin, friend and I went out to wait in line right away. Three Days Grace did the same thing. I got to meet both bands and get their autographs, which I still have somewhere. It was crazy!

In June 2007, my mom took my sister, cousin and I to see Fall Out Boy for my 16th birthday. I don’t think I'd ever been so excited for anything. They were my favorite band for years, and I'd never seen them live.

We got to the show, and instead of waiting in the line that went all the way to the parking lot, my mom led us to the window saying she had to pick something up. The gates were still closed, and I was watching the people, amazed at how many were there so early. My mom was handed an envelope, and then she headed toward the gate, not the back of the line. My anxious self kept asking “what are you doing?” and “what’s in the envelope?” I didn’t understand why she was going to talk to security. Then she showed me four orange wristbands sat in the envelope.

She had emailed their manager and told him how much I loved Fall Out Boy, and that it was my birthday. He replied with four free meet-n-greet passes and four free tickets, although we had tickets already. I was ecstatic! Then a man came out with a megaphone and announced that the concert was going to be postponed until the following week because half of the band was stuck at the airport in New York.

We had already put our wristbands on and didn’t know if we’d get new ones, so for four days we kept them on without ruining them. Because we had those four extra tickets, when it came time to go back we brought four more people with us. We figured that while they couldn’t go backstage with us, they could still enjoy the show. However, when we got there, we received four more wristbands that looked identical to the four we kept on. So, all eight of us got to go backstage and meet Fall Out Boy. We got their autographs and a couple pictures with them. It was amazing!

It didn’t fully hit me, however, until three or four songs into their set. Toward the end of my favorite song, there is a big instrumental part that really builds up. I started bawling as the emotions of what was happening came flooding in. To this day, it remains my favorite concert and one of the best birthday presents ever.

2007 was the year I started going to multiple concerts a year, and I haven’t stopped since. In the last 9.5 years, I've been to over 30 shows. I've seen more than 100 bands and met at least a dozen of them. I traveled over six hours to see Tom Petty in another state. I waited in line for hours for tickets to FUN; and I waited hours in the freezing cold rain to meet Jason Mraz. I even made it into a video on Jason Mraz’s Youtube channel. You can see him hug me and pose for a picture at 19 seconds. I have seen Panic! At The Disco and Paramore three times each, and I have seen Fall Out Boy every time they’ve been in Indiana since 2009, which has been six times now. Last year, I got to see one of my favorite bands, The Head And The Heart, with my sister. We ended up being against the stage and then got to meet some of the band after the show. Each performance is better than the last and I'm convinced each one is my new favorite. I can’t wait to see what this year holds in store for me.