About three weeks ago, I saw Troye Sivan during one of the stops of his "Bloom" tour. And in case you have no idea who Troye Sivan is, he is a South African singer-songwriter, actor, and also a former YouTuber.

I have been a fan of Troye for six years now, so meeting him after his concert was honestly like a dream come true. A few days before going to his show, I found out that there were going to be people chosen from the crowd to meet him after the concert. I immediately tried to think of some way to get Troye or his staff to notice me and my friends at the show, and after collaborating with one of my friends, we decided to make signs. We made each sign look like a postcard because one of Troye's songs off his new album is titled "Postcard," and then in the middle of the signs we each had one word from the phrase "you make us bloom." On the day of the show, we stopped by Publix and bought sunflowers and held them up with our signs for the entirety of the concert.

During the show, I kept telling myself, "Troye is going to see these signs and we are going to meet him." I was so sure of it that it actually ended up coming true. In the middle of his performance of "The Good Side," one of his staff members walked up to my friend and asked her if she wanted to meet Troye. Obviously, she said yes and then told the woman that she was there with three of her friends. We were then each handed a sticker that would be our pass to meet Troye. And of course, like any sane human being, we started freaking out. I was jumping up and down and squeezing the life out of my friend's arm as I grinned from ear to ear. "The Good Side" now holds a very special place in my heart because it reminds me of the happiness that was radiating out of me that night.

When the concert ended, we were told to wait in a single file line next to a door with a few other people. My heart was racing because that was the first time in my life that I was going to be able to say more than a few words to a celebrity that I admire. As we were being taken inside to wait for Troye, all I could think of was, "I really hope I don't smell bad." My friends and I had waited outside for hours before the show because we wanted a good spot in the pit, which we thankfully got, but I knew I had been sweating non-stop. Eventually, my worries were cut short because when Troye walked out, I threw my hand up to my mouth and gasped. I could not believe that the person I had loved and listened to for so many years was finally standing in front of me.

When Troye approached us, he said, "Guys! I saw your signs during the show but I couldn't say anything because I was in the middle of-" and then made a twirling motion. I was shocked to hear him say this because during the concert it never seemed like Troye saw our signs. It was nice to know that the ache in my arms from holding up the sign and sunflower was not obtained in vain.

By the time it was my turn to take a photo with Troye, it felt like my knees were going to buckle. I walked up to him and he gave me a hug (and no, he didn't smell like anything) and once we separated, all of the words that had been swirling around in my brain came flying out of my mouth. I told him, "Oh my god I have been a fan of yours for years, ever since you were on YouTube." He jokingly responded with, "Oh god, my YouTube days." and I laughed and told him that I loved him. Then, we each put an arm around each other and posed for a picture. I thought my face was going to crack in half as the photo was being taken because I was smiling so hard.

Afterward, I handed Troye my sign and he signed it. While he was writing my name, I said, "You look even more beautiful in person." That thought had been running through my mind the entire time I was standing next to him, and I knew that if I did not say it, I would regret it. Troye smiled and replied, "Oh my god, thank you!" and then handed me back my sign.

Valentina Duarte

I stood off to the side with my friend after that and we waited for the rest of our friends to finish meeting him. Once we had all spoken to him, we stood next to him in the order of our "you make us bloom" signs and took another photo. We then thanked him for everything and went back outside into the venue.

If for some reason you are not a fan of Troye, I strongly encourage you to listen to both of his albums, "Bloom" and "Blue Neighbourhood." They are both magnificent and full of emotion and I guarantee that you will fall in love with him just as much as I did.