California Love (Part 3): AMERICAN IDOL!!!

- May 31, 2013

This Thursday I'm only throwing it back to two weeks ago.

Two weeks ago today, Kacie and I were eating on the pier in Santa Monica when Chanelle texted me and said we had gotten American Idol finale tickets and we'd have to be there in an hour and a half. And we'd have to find transportation because Chanelle was at work.

Yikes!

Of course my initial thought was, "OH MY GOSH WE'RE GOING TO AMERICAN IDOL!!!"

My second thought was, "Oh my gosh I CANNOT go to an American Idol finale dressed in shorts, sandals, and a denim shirt, WE HAVE TO STOP AT OLD NAVY OR SOMETHING!!!!!"

But alas, we could not stop and Old Navy and here's why:

Kacie got the Yellow Cab number.

I called the Yellow Cab as we were sprinting up the colorful Santa Monica pier, weaving in and out of people who were lollygagging around.

The Yellow Cab guy said they'd be there in five minutes.

TWENTY minutes later, the Yellow Cab people were nowhere to be found.

It was now 3:20, and we had to be at Idol at 4.

My stomach was in knots.

We found another cab parked on the side of the road and informed the guy, "WE NEED TO BE AT THE NOKIA THEATRE IN 40 MINUTES. CAN YOU DO THAT?!"

He said he would try.

We hopped in.

Whew.

We were freaking out in the cab, crossing our fingers and hoping we'd make it there by 4. We were fixing our makeup and trying to look as presentable as we could for this big event.

When we FINALLY got there, we got in the wrong line to get in, but by doing that, we got to see the red carpet and all of the stars!

It was the busiest, most frantic, most exciting thing ever. Everywhere I looked I saw an Idol celebrity or someone with a microphone or camera. It was crazy. It was surreal.

We finally got in the right line, and after 30 minutes of agony and wondering if we were gonna make it in in time (I was stressed TO THE MAX because they were now saying we might not get in), we FINALLY got to walk into the huge auditorium in the Nokia Theatre.

Oh my gosh.

Literally, tears came to my eyes when I saw the whole stage in lights and "American Idol" across the top. I saw everything I'd been seeing on TV for ten years. I saw my 14-year-old self frantically dialing numbers to vote for Clay Aiken and various others over the years.

I was starstruck.

But more than that, I felt a dream being fulfilled.

I really can't describe it other than that...

...........................

The show was AMAZING. Seeing it all live and in person was so crazy. Seeing all these people in person (not up close, but close enough!!) was insane. The music was fantastic. It was a fabulous time. I couldn't put my camera down. I wanted to preserve every moment.

It was really cool, too, because I'd been watching and following this season (I don't watch every season).

During a break, I went to the trendy Nokia Theatre bathroom. As I was washing my hands, I looked at my sunburnt face and wondered what I'd done to deserve to be so blessed. It was just so surreal.

I know it's not THAT big of a deal. It's not like I was IN the show or got to meet anyone famous.

But who cares? What is fame?

I was just glad that I got to have that experience.

God knows the desires of our heart, no matter how silly or petty they may seem.

I am SO glad I got to do that.

I will never forget it.

This was my Facebook post afterward: