Recently I went to an Imagine Dragons Concert. I bought the tickets over the summer and I could not have been more excited.

As Imagine Dragons began to perform, I was blown away by the emotion in every part of the performance. After the introduction, Dan Reynolds thanked everybody for coming to the concert. He talked about how he is thankful that every person there was not afraid to come together and gather in a public place to listen to music.

Not once did I question whether or not to attend this concert. My love for music and desire to see them perform was stronger than any fear I could have had. Nothing Dan said surprised me, but I did stop to think about how the empty seats across from us may have belonged to people who were afraid to come.

Fear stops people from doing what they want to do.

We cannot forget all of the concert shootings. Dan Reynolds talked a lot about Las Vegas because it is his hometown. I am not trying to downplay or forget what happened. But we are looking at the few tragedies and dismissing all of the times that concerts have gone amazingly well and transformed the lives of all the attendees.

Music takes away the barriers and stereotypes.

When you chose not to go to a concert, you are missing out on the opportunity to unite with other people. As Dan Reynolds reminded his listeners, color, class, and sex are meaningless. “We are all human beings trying to coexist.” Music allows us to do this, but it is most effective when people gather together over their shared interest.

Time to escape the craziness of work and school.

Those few hours of a concert are invaluable. Getting overtaken by the music is a de-stressor. You forget all the troubles you are going through. Forget that to do list and simply enjoy the music. Let it be your temporary escape from reality.

Meet new people.

One of the aspects of concerts that makes them so powerful is getting to meet new people. Whether its a few words in the concession line or a full conversation with the person sitting next to you, you are breaking down barriers. Meeting random people may be fearful to some people, but I have never met anybody at a concert that I did not enjoy getting to know and witness their shared love for whoever was performing.

Fear is normal and natural, but it won’t stop me from gathering in a public place to go to an event that I want to be at.