Concerts are more than just music. You are filled in a room full of strangers, but you are all there for the same reason. I am fortunate enough that by the end of 2024, I will have attended 15 concerts; Miley Cyrus, Carrie Underwood, One Republic, One Direction, Harry Styles three times, Rex Orange County, Noah Kahan, Kenny Chesney, The Lumineers, Zach Bryan, Coin, and Billie Eilish. You would think it'd be impossible to pick just one concert memory, and it is, but out of those fifteen concerts, one always stands out from the others. October 8th, 2022. Harry Styles is performing at the United Center in Chicago Illinois and I have tickets to be in the pit. By this point, I had already seen Harry Styles twice before and they were the best concerts I've ever attended. However, this one was special. I was with my best friend who I hadn't seen in three months and Harry Styles is the reason we became friends. She and I left school during lunch to sit on Ticketmaster and try to get tickets. Luckily right out of the gate, I was 64th in line. Our first instinct was to click for pit tickets immediately, not looking at the price, but it was the best impulsive decision we've ever made. The day of the concert we woke up at 6 am and drove down to Chicago to get our wristbands. Waiting around in the parking lot of the United Center was the longest eight or so hours of my life, but it was so worth it. My favorite memory from that night was when he was performing Satellite, my all-time favorite song, right in front of my eyes. It felt like a fever dream. Watching him sing my favorite song in a sequin pink and blue outfit and listening to everyone around me singing the words was, by far, my favorite concert memory. My first concert memory was when I was six years old. My mom took me to a Miley Cyrus concert because at the time I was obsessed with Hannah Montana. Six-year-old me thought this was going to be a Hannah Montana concert, and it was not. I remember not fully clothed Miley Cyrus on top of a motorcycle hanging from the ceiling. Granted this was not what my mom was expecting to have been my first concert but ever since then I have had a love for music and concerts.

October 30th, 2018. I was twelve years old and in 7th grade. I proceeded that day just like any other, but when I arrived home from school my family wasn’t home. I knew they were at a doctor's appointment for my six-year-old brother, but I figured they would’ve been home. I didn't think much of it and took advantage of being able to watch television before doing my homework. Around dinner time I heard my mom knock on my door. All I remember after my mom walked in was that there was a high possibility that my brother has type one diabetes. My mom tried her best to explain to me what that meant but I simply couldn't understand. I knew that he was going to be okay, however, at that point, he was already in an ambulance on his way to Children's Hospital. I joined my mom and went down to the hospital to see my brother, walking into the emergency room and seeing him hooked up to so many machines scared me. I didn’t know what being diagnosed with type one diabetes meant, I genuinely thought he was going to die. That night we got to go home and come back the next morning to learn all about what type one diabetes is, and from October 30th, 2018, my family's lives were forever changed. Being that I am the oldest, I get charged with the task of sometimes being the designated babysitter for my brother, since he is six years younger than me. I quickly learned how to give him shots of insulin, dose him correctly for food, monitor his blood sugar, and give him carbohydrates when he was going low. The first year was a huge learning curve for my family but we all worked together to make it work. Today there are advances in technology where we can do everything from our phones, however, the initial learning curve took time to adjust. Diabetes has just been part of my life for the past six years. I’m always aware it's part of him but it doesn't scare me anymore. That was, until March 3rd, 2024. When a child is first diagnosed they make you go to classes to learn about the basics and the scary parts of what being a type one diabetic is. For the past six years, my family has been fortunate enough to never experience any life-threatening instances with diabetes. Around 2 am I heard my step dad scream, “I’m calling 911.” I jolted out of bed almost immediately and ran downstairs, I had no clue what was going on. I heard my mom talking to the 911 operator and she said, “My son is a type one diabetic and he's having a seizure.” My entire body started shaking, and I knew my mom was freaking out so I told her to let me talk to the operator. They asked me a series of questions and I met the ambulance and firetruck downstairs of our hotel and led them to my brother. At this point, I still didn't really know what happened. I hugged my brother before he walked out to the elevator and he and my mom left to go to the hospital. The next day I felt off and I knew he was okay but never in a million years did I think this would have happened, and I am so unbelievably grateful that he is okay. But no one really understands that side of what being a type one diabetic is.