Rocket Trip

My absolute favorite band is called The Rocket Summer. Thanks to word of mouth, I discovered this band and went to my first show on March 9th last year, and believe me; I had never been so impacted in my entire life.
Bryce Avary, the one man show of The Rocket Summer, is the most genuine person and performer I have ever seen live. The music that other kids listen to on the radio can not even begin to compare to his. He sings about hope and love and spreads a message about life that is worth hearing.
Since that day, I have seen him perform six times, the last one being more than a thousand miles from home. When the tour dates for The Rocket Summer’s tour were announced for the spring of this year, I had my mind set on seeing him perform in another city. I did not know which, but all I knew was I wanted to experience seeing him live from another state. I begged my parents, asking them to give it to me as a birthday present, but obviously not even the craziest of parents would agree to go out-of-state to allow me to see an artist I had already seen a good amount of times before. I decided to take matters into my own hands and requested more hours at work and tried to handle working and going to school. I ended up saving enough money for my dad and myself to travel and chose to go to Cleveland, Ohio, the last stop of the tour to see The Rocket Summer perform. It is incredible that my love for music, specifically for this band, would lead me to a city I never would have thought to visit beforehand.
I was so excited for the trip and had ordered plane tickets and printed out maps, so all I had to do was buy the tickets. I went online to purchase them and to my shock and perplexity, they were sold out. I went into major freak-out mode. Had I just purchased plane flights to a city a thousand miles away to see my favorite band but had no tickets to see the show? In the midst of my panic I wrote to Scott Heisel, the editor of the tour’s sponsor, telling him all about my dilemma. I saw he had read my message but ten minutes had past and he had not answered. I gave up, was feeling down and very, very scared at what my parent’s reactions would be. As though things pertaining to The Rocket Summer could not get any better, they did. The editor wrote me back, telling me that he knew how dedicated of a fan I was, flying to see my favorite band, and although the show was sold out, he had spoken to the rest of his department and they had come to the conclusion that I deserved to be at that show. He left two tickets for me at will call. Not only had things worked out but I wasn’t flying to be at a hotel a block away from where Bryce Avary would be performing, wishing I was inside!
Finally the time came to fly out to Cleveland, and we packed up our things, happily leaving Miami behind for the mean time. I had the opportunity to meet Scott and thank him for what he had done. The show itself was absolutely indescribable. Everyone has something that they love and cherish in their life, that they hold very dear to their heart, and for me it happens to be a band. My soul was singing that night and I could feel my heart leaking of joy.
After the show was over, I had the privilege to speak to Bryce Avary and while waiting for him to come out I met three people that have, since than, been such a special part of my life. We shared the love for the music, for Bryce Avary, and the desire to help make the world a better place with music. We exchanged e-mails and promised we’d see each other soon. I did not know how soon, but two months later, Patrick, Stacey, and Scott, my three friends from Cleveland came to Miami to embark on a cruise. They arrived a day early, and I showed them around the city , blasting our Rocket Summer jams and singing windows- down, just the way it’s suppose to be.
My life is better because of this trip, not only did I see my idol perform, getting to talk to him afterwards and thank him for what he means to me,  but I met so many wonderful and generous people along the way. This trip will always be held dearly to my heart and I hope to share my story, ups and downs, to my kids in the future and show them that love and dedication can help you accomplish your goals, whatever they may be.