The Best Day For Me

"Keds, if you give me this chance now

It will be The Best Day For Me" 

Indeed, it was the best day for me! Aw. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was announced the winner of Keds' contest where I got the "Meet and Greet" passes plus tickets to Taylor Swift's concert. Now I'm in front of my computer doing a blog post about the whole surreal experience. Anyway, before I start with this post I'd like to warn everyone that most of the photos are not in its best quality since it was only taken using a 14mp digital camera - I really don't want to take the risk of bringing a DSLR camera at big events like this one. Also, this post is going to be lengthier than the usual, I'll be narrating everything even the smallest details. I hope.

That's all, enjoy! 

The staff of Keds texted us the day itself that we were supposed to be in MOA Arena by 5:30pm for the Meet & Greet, since Nicole and I got there earlier than Call-time, as usual, we decided to take photos to pass up the time. 

I definitely loved the weather, it was windy but not too much, and for the first time in months the heat was bearable. There were media outfits everywhere, Swifties in their most creative costumes and fans singing Taylor Swift's songs. The positive vibe is contagious and I can really tell that I'm going to have an amazing night! 

Shoe(selfie) and matching red shoes from Solemate with Nicole

Decided to include this blurry (selfie) photo just because we look beyond happy and excited here

As soon as we arrived at the venue I was surprised by the amount of people who was already in line. I also overheard that people started swarming as early as 8 in the morning even though the tickets are reserved seating. Woah, talk about being a fan! 

Red, red, red everwhere!

 Ever since Keds announced us as the winner of the contest, we've been contemplating on what to wear. I had to admit, that thinking of an outfit is quite a daunting task. It's supposed to be the last thing we should be worried about, yeah, but then this one is unlike the usual concerts, it's the RED TOUR and we'll be meeting her in person! I guess a part of me wants to look presentable in front of Taylor but at the same time a part of me just want to hug her and not really care how I appear.

After weeks of talking about it, Nicole and I decided to go all matchy-matchy for our Red Tour outfit.

Since "22" is our (Nicole Mg & Bea) friendship song, we thought why not wear something inspired by it? Instead of buying a "Not A Lot Going On At The Moment" shirt online, we just had to customize it somewhat. It didn't cost as much, so I still had a few cash to buy red flats and a sparkly skirt. To top off the look, I wore my Rayban Sunnies and Fedora Hat. Anyway, do you think I was I able to pull off the "22" look? 

Skirt from Soiree

We bought red pom-poms for props and we also have something written on our skin using a red marker, I wrote "Can I be your BFF?" and "& everything will be alright" 

After 30 minutes we finally got inside the Arena and headed immediately to the Meet and Greet area where they gave us this special tag

When we arrived in the Meet and Greet area, one of Taylor's assistant asked our names and when he found it, he immediately told us to line up and wait. There were like less than 10 people ahead of us so it was exciting. We had to put our bags and stuff on a table, and they told us we can't bring anything inside except for our cameras. The management was very strict as well as the security (that's a good sign). I was nervous, and sweaty because of the short adventure we had before getting in the arena (you don't want to know the details). Anyway, the queuing process was organized and it wasn't crowded inside as I expected. Below is the tent where the Meet and Greet happens or what they call the Cornetto Red Zone, you see the purple light from the far right? That is where Taylor Swift is! 

Inside the Cornetto Red Zone 

The management informed us that there's a smaller tent inside the Cornetto Red Zone and we have to line up properly outside it. At first I thought the tent was another queue but I was surprised when they opened the cloth partition and let the first people from the line enter because I saw Taylor! I felt like screaming my heart out but I don't want to cause a scene so I just kept it to myself. While waiting for our turn, I mentally told myself "This is it. This is it." and I got teary eyed. I think my eyeliner got smudged but from that moment I didn't really care how I look I just want to go inside the tent and hug her and tell her everything I've been longing to tell her from the first day. 

As soon as we entered the red tent where Taylor is, she immediately hugged me and for about 5 seconds I was speechless. I literally pinched myself to check whether I was dreaming or not and I think Taylor saw it because she smiled at me while trying to hold back a laugh. It was embarrassing but I cut it off by telling her how much I love her and her music. I thanked her for everything she had done in the past years and even mentioned the bullying thing to her which upset her. She's really good at giving advices and even told Nicole and I how thankful she is for having us there. 

While posing for the camera she asked if Nicole and I were sisters, I wanted to tell her that biologically we are not but we are by heart, however, it might confuse her so I just said no but we're best friends. Everything happened so quickly. After the picture taking she keeps going on and on about how beautiful we are which made my self-esteem go from 0 to 100 but not enough to make it go all the way to my head. When we were about to leave I told her how extremely thrilled we are for her concert, then after wishing her good luck we left the tent wearing the biggest smiles on our faces. 

After the 3-minute Meet and Greet, one of her assistants lead us outside and gave us this photo with Taylor's autograph on it. I'll definitely have this framed!

Here's the scrapbook we failed to give Taylor since we weren't allowed to. It was quite disappointing because we really worked hard on it but I understand. We'll have it snail mailed to her then :) 

When we got out of the Meet and Greet area, Nicole and I ran to the restroom and shot a video. Luckily, there were no people inside so we went crazy, letting out all the emotions we've been keeping inside. It was a good timing because after the Meet and Greet we spotted fireworks outside the Arena! 

Re-energizing ourselves before the concert!

"If it's meant to be, it will be."

Here are the Lowerbox tickets we won from Spinnr! Before you all go ballistic and ask me why I won another contest. Well, Nicole and I joined the Spinnr Instagram video contest way before the Keds contest. If you're one of my Instagram followers you'll understand. We also made a music video and all the creative things you could think of to get noticed, but when we realized that Spinnr was taking too long to announce the winners we gave up and that's when we joined the Keds contest. It was an unexpected win, I literally blinked 10 times to check if it was real. I was elated to say the least because not only did I win 2 tickets but I got another 2! Wew. God is good. Thank you so much Spinnr, thank you so much God! 

Here's our view few minutes before the show started

Credits to the owner of the picture

"Love is a ruthless game, unless you play it good and right"

I don't know what happened to me the moment I saw Taylor's silhouette, but I screamed my heart out not really minding the people around me. Like in most of her Red Tour concerts, she opened the show with one of my favorite songs from her album "State of Grace". Followed by "Holy Ground" with her drum solo that I enjoyed the most. Afterwards, she sang "Red" and then "The Lucky One" where they showed a clip of Taylor with a 1960's vibe in it. Before Taylor sang "Mean" she had a heartfelt spiel, saying: 

"If you don't feel like you fit in with the people you're trying to be friends with, or the crowd you're chasing, or the cool kids... You should just do what I've done. You should just be you, until you find the people you fit in with, and hang out with them." 

Her message was direct to the point and I can't help but get emotional. Among all of her songs, "Mean" is definitely my favorite one, it holds a very special place in my heart because it helped me get through a lot of things. After singing "Mean", they showed another of clip of Taylor growing up. From her first piano lessons to when she first learned how to play the guitar and sang to thousands of people and her first recording experience, it was really fun watching it. I knew the next song was "22" so I had my camera ready! 

Credits to the owner of the picture

"And I don't know how it gets better than this

 You take my hand and drag me head first

Fearless"

This is Taylor at the B-stage where she sang "You Belong With Me", "Fearless" and "Sparks Fly". I'm really happy that she sang "Fearless" for her surprise acoustic song because it brought so many memories from High School. I was smiling the whole time :)

Credits to the owner of the picture

"'Til you put me down, oh"

After "Sparks Fly" Taylor immediately heads to the main stage where fans from the VIP area were able get a glimpse of Taylor up-close and the lucky ones were able to touch her hands. Caitlin Evanson had her fiddle solo before Taylor sang "I Knew You Were Trouble". As the song ended, I spotted the red piano and I knew she was about to sing my favorite song from her RED album and I had my handkerchief ready (literally!).

 "All Too Well" is the song that grew on me. (For more, read my previous post about All Too Well here) I think lyrically it's beautiful and it tells a story, almost like you can imagine it happening in your mind's eye. It's a very emotional song for me to say the least, so telling you I was tearing the whole time is an understatement. She had a spiel too before starting and you can see through her eyes how much the song means to her. Then after "All Too Well" she sang "Love Story" and then finally singing her last song, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together".

I have been to tons of concerts before but I had to admit that all of it is nothing compared to the Red Tour. I am blessed and thankful to be part of this amazing era of Taylor Swift. I have experienced ups and downs before I got here but I can say that it was all worth it.

To end this post, I'd like you all to remember that life is a journey, not a destination. Live life the way you want to live it, cause you only have one. If you really want to see Taylor Swift or whoever celebrity you admire, you'll make it there somehow. Grab all opportunities and never give up. Do everything it takes because if you really want something to happen, it will happen. Don't rely on other people and don't think because the person is a bigger fan than the others that they deserve more, if you fail to make it happen perhaps your destiny relies elsewhere. Just keep going... According to my "wise" Dad, the winner is a loser who never gives up trying!

A big thank you to Spinnr and Keds for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime experience! You guys are the best. Also, special thanks to our best friend MG Tuazon for everything! #ohyouknowit :)

Awww... I can finally sing this! *sniff*

My before Taylor Swift experience in one picture :) I hope you all enjoyed reading this lengthy post I wrote! Till next time...

Stay Sassy! ❤