"Losing him was blue like I've never known, missing him was dark grey all alone, forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you've never met. But loving him was red".

On Saturday, August 3rd I experienced amazement. Something absolutely wonderful. This wonder is known as The Red Tour and stars Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Florida Georgia Line. Every second of it was everything I wanted it to be and more. We initially had these terrible seats in the 200 section. As a frequent concert goer, I can no longer stand seats way up there. I know that makes me a total stuck up person, but it's just not the same. I like to see my performer with my own eyes, and to feel the beat of the drum not shake from the sound of the speakers. Being up close and personal is the best & only way to fully experience a concert.

As a frequent concert goer, I can also say with confidence that the Red Tour was above and beyond what most tours are. There were flying drummers, confetti, indoor fireworks, costumes (in the literal sense of the word), several different stage arrangements, and three different stages in general. Taylor Swift is one of the only performers of her stature who's willing to crowd surf and get up close and personal with her fans. She has fun! That's so rare. To see someone on stage having that fabulous of a time, and that in awe of her own fame. If it's acting, then I fell for it. She seemed genuinely excited to be there the entire time and just shocked by all the love she was getting. She sold out two back to back shows at the sprint center in minutes! Very few artists can do that.

So I've told you about all the magic. I left the arena absolutely wonderstruck. Can you believe that some people left without the slightest spark of excitement? It made me realize that a majority of Americans have lost their wonder. They are given so much that they can't truly appreciate when something is truly fantastic. There were many little girls at the concert. Seeing all those little ones made me think of my nieces. I've been communicating with them more frequently lately which makes them for lack of a better word more real. In Khaled Hosseni's new book And The Mountains Echoed, he has a character that goes back to his homeland somewhere in the middle east. He meets this very sick girl who needed his help. Originally her pain was always on his mind. He wanted to do everything he could to help her. But as he stayed in America, he slowly began to forget the intensity of her struggles and the ones that many others face in that area. After going back to Africa this summer, I see how that is.

At first you're just so into trying to do anything you can to help the people there. Then you fall back into this haze where spending $40 on a manicure seems reasonable even though most people don't even have $40 to spend the entire month in other countries. Anyways, as I was seeing those little girls singing along to Taylor Swift, holding up their signs that she's never going to see, and being surrounded my indoor fireworks and confetti. I thought of my little nieces and how they will probably never get to experience anything like that. Never. They'll never get to experience a clean public bathroom let alone an arena that holds thousands of people with fireworks and a stage, and any of that.

So when you're sitting in an arena experiencing the magic that is this life we live, you should do everything in your power to appreciate it. Simply breathing is a blessing, but getting to live a life of such privelage like many in this country get to do makes me grateful beyond measure. I feel like I'm the only one who realizes this. This is why I'm bubbling with excitement at every moment. Why I strive to feel alive. I'm Alive by Celine Dion is my jam. When I hear it, I dance. Why shouldn't I dance? With all the blessings in my life, I have no right to go through my day to day life without appreciation for anything and everything. Those red moments are everything.

Song of the day : Red by Taylor Swift

Quote of the day: "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year"