This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to Mercedes-Benz stadium to see Ed Sheeran. Ed is an artist that I have loved for so long, and I finally got to see him perform live. Ed is so different than any other artist that I have seen live. Ed does not have a band. He does not even have a backtrack. All he has is a guitar and this cool little contraption called a loop pedal.

Some background information on the loop pedal. A loop pedal "allows a single player to record an exact replica of their instrument within a given space of time to be played back with the tap of a foot." So, the start of "Shape of You" is recorded with the loop pedal, and is played back the entire song without Ed ever having to play it a second time. Until Ed Sheeran came along, I had never even heard of a loop pedal, but I am slowly learning it may be the greatest invention.

Now back to the concert, when I actually was able to step back and take it all in, a thought came to my head. This thought is what inspired me to write this. Ed Sheeran is doing this all by himself, and he is doing great at it. He does not need a band or a back track because he realizes that he is just as good, if not better, without them. This is how I want to live my life. While I am so thankful for the "band" in my life, I do not need to rely on them to get me where I want to be. The only person that can make me happy, is me.

During Ed's song "Perfect", I looked around the whole stadium. It was lit up with the flashlight on everyone's phone and the voices of all of the fans singing the song to Ed. In that moment, I cried. During the entire concert, I cried because of how Ed shaped every single person in that room just with his voice, his guitar, and his loop pedal. There were people literally falling in love right before my eyes. There were teenage girls dancing around with their dads (hi, that was me), and there were plenty of people crying.

Ed Sheeran's Divide Tour taught me that it is ok to be by myself. In fact, you will probably get farther if you just stay true to yourself, and not let your "band" change you.

Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill - Loop Pedal Version www.youtube.com