Christmas in July: My Dream Comes True

Have you ever had one of those things that you’ve wanted to do your whole life but never felt like you could? So you tuck it away in the back of your mind on your mental bucket list that you don’t look at too often because it makes you sad to think about. You’ve explored every possible option to achieve this dream and have come to the conclusion that the only way to afford it is to sell your kidney on the black market. So yes, you’ve given some thought to selling your kidney on the black market.

This was me and the dream I’ve had, since I was thirteen, to see Coldplay in concert. I could go on for days about the time I first heard a Coldplay song (it was “Shiver,” in my dad’s car, driving through Richmond on a sunny summer day), how I’ve listened to and loved every CD since that moment, how I’ve stalked their world tours just to find they only frequent places like Tokyo, Paris and NYC (hence the thought of selling my kidneys on the black market), and by the end of it, you would probably know way too much about me and maybe a little too much about Coldplay (is that possible??).

So I’ll fast forward and talk about how my dream came true.

It’s sappy! I know! But when I got those tickets to their Mylo Xyloto tour in DC, that’s what it was: a dream. My dad, who’s shared my affinity for Coldplay since the beginning, gave my sister and I the tickets as a Christmas present. The concert wasn’t until July, but I was okay with waiting – talk about Christmas in July! As the months passed, the excitement built, and it began to feel more and more unreal. By the time we headed up to D.C., I wasn’t nervous or jumping around like crazy because it honestly felt like it wasn’t going to happen. I had waited for this for years – there’s no way it could happen now, right? I was sure something would happen – a rogue satellite falling from space and plummeting to Earth to destroy the Verizon center, a hurricane blowing in and causing panic and mass traffic issues – my shocked mind was creating all sorts of scenarios to convince me the dream would never come true. But the day of July 8^th came, hours passed, my sister and I began to freak, we rode the taxi to the Verizon center, we got to our seats, and we were there.

We made my dad go incredibly early so we had quite a long time to ponder why there was a black platform in the row in front of our seats. Immediate panic laced with excitement set in. What was this platform for? A spotlight? A camera? Was some dude or piece of machinery going to destroy my view and shatter my dream? Was it for Rihanna in their performance of Princess of China? Yes, we agreed, it had to be Rihanna – the stage was too small and too close to the crowd (it was IN the crowd) for the band to come out, that would just be crazy.

So after some amazing openers, the first song (Mylo Xyloto – a beautiful instrumental) comes on and I swear it was the most magical thing I have ever witnessed. So, of course, the moment they stepped on stage I cried. Yes, I cried! All my friends laugh because I NEVER cry. Ever! But I did and I am not ashamed. It was beautiful. The whole set was beautiful! The guys were such great performers and they played some of my favorite songs, and I was not embarrassed to sing along to every single one.  When the opening to Princess of China started, my sister and I freaked, “Rihanna’s coming!” we said over and over. But the song came and went with no Rihanna. When the song finished, my sister and I looked at each other with eyes wide and mouths dropped. With no camera or spotlight and no Rihanna, there was only one option: Coldplay was going to perform three feet in front of us.

When Coldplay left the stage, we started screaming. I swear it took them three years to get to our mini stage, but they did, and I was so worried I was going to faint or start sobbing (all while on the jumbotron) but that moment when Chris Martin stepped up in front of me all I could do was stare in shock. My hands were shaking and I felt like I was on the surface of the sun – I don’t think I have sweat more in my life. And the whole time (about three songs) I felt like I was literally dreaming. My mind went blank: I couldn’t remember the words to the songs they played, and honestly even now I couldn’t tell you what the songs were.

When the concert ended, I was in shock, exhausted and thoroughly depressed. Not only was the show over (I could have stayed for six more hours), but the whole thing was so incredible that I knew no concert could ever match it, much less surpass it.

After a few weeks recovery, I still get chills thinking about it and yes, I want to cry every time I hear Mylo Xyloto. In the end, that sense of disbelief always settles back in and I still have to remind myself that it actually happened. It truly was a dream come true that I will never ever forget.