Narrative

   


                                                                  Akron Adventures


      I couldn't believe it, I was there. My parents thought it was a terrible idea saying it's to far away to drive on a school night when bad weather was suppose to be coming around. And that it would be to expensive to drive all that way and that there were to many risks involved, but they let me go anyways. I was standing outside the Musica, a venue in Akron, Ohio, that cold January, Sunday night. I had driven up with some of my friends to see Twenty | One | Pilots preform. We were at the front of the line. Pulses pounding, adrenaline at its maximum, we were standing dressed in shorts and short sleeve shirts even though it was well below freezing. We were oblivious to the cold, knowing full well that once we got inside we would regret bringing them. We could barely contain our excitement. Anticipating the doors to finally open. The time came. The doors opened. We rushed in.
     We found ourselves about fifteen feet from the stage, a bit to the left. The place was packed. Four hundred people crammed into a tight area. The sour aroma of stale sweat and fresh beer penetrated the room. Hopes are rising. The first band came on stage, the lead singer looked like Ted from 'how i met your mother' sweater vest and everything. They left the stage. Band number two came on, New Politics. Their set was longer, more entertaining to though. As they announced their last song, you could feel the anticipation of the crowd rise. Everyone inched forward. Shoulder to shoulder, often standing on top of someone else's feet. Everyone itching for a better view of what was about to happen. They entered.
    Tyler Joseph, lead singer, pianist, ukulele player, you name it and Josh Dun, drummer, came into view. This unique, one of a kind pair made history for local musicians. These 'nobodies' from Columbus rocked the music world for central Columbus, selling out the Newport and then moving to the LC, and selling that out to in a matter of hours. Yes, this duo was that special.
     They began their set. Everyone began shoving, going into a frenzy, loosing our minds. Hands held higher, jumping to the beat, screaming the almost nonsensical  lyrics, that simply confused outsiders, but to us, to their loyal fan base, we understood. The show went on, and to our dismay, came to an end.
     When this odd duo left the stage, my friends and I debated whether or not we should stay the extra 2 hours in order to meet and get autographs from Tyler and Josh. We really needed to get home. But if we drove all this way for the concert, whats a few more hours waiting going to change? We stayed.  Tyler and Josh finally came back out. We were about fiftieth in line. It felt like an eternity. Barely inching forward. Finally we were next. We took our pictures, got our autographs, and my one friend tried to trade shirts with Tyler. We then left the venue in a daze. The night had come to climatic end, or so we thought.
    When we left the building we noticed the temperature had really dropped, who would have guessed... We still didn't mind the cold though. Our blood was pounding, adrenalin coursing its way through our veins.  We walked the few blocks to our cars, discussing out favorite part of the concert or our favorite song. Arriving at our cars, everyone piled in. I was driving a dodge minivan and another friend was driving another car full. As we begin to head home, we expect to be home at around 3 to 4 in the morning. We had a two hour drive. We began our journey back home.
     As we merged on to 71 it began to rain. And in 20 degree weather, water freezes. The roads were clear nobody was around us. My friends and I were just talking of the concert when all of a sudden we hit a patch of ice. The van began to spin, centrifugal force taking its toll. The blood seemed to rush to our heads, giving us the feeling of being on a roller coaster taking a sharp turn. Time seemed to slow down for a matter of seconds as I see the van going backwards down 71 at about 50 mph. At the same time though it all happened so fast. As quickly as I had lost control we jolted to a stop. The van had done a 720 and rammed into the guard rail. To say we were dazed would be a huge understatement. I immediately checked with my friends, they were fine. We were all fine. God had protected us. A tow truck going north pulled over and checked if we were okay. He then called the highway patrol for us. The highway patrol came and then sent us on our way. We had called our parents, they arranged for us to stay in a hotel and finished the drive home the next day.
     In short, what should have been a one hundred dollar trip ( for the tickets and gas) it ended up being a five thousand plus dollar trip, for repairs for the van, increase in insurance, and oh yeah, I had to go to court and loose my license for three months my senior year of high school. Turns out my mom was right, the concert was a bad idea and it had a lot of risks. I figured she was just worrying to much and thinking of all the negatives to persuade me not to go, in this case though, her worries were justified.  I guess the real question of this whole experience is, was it really worth it? Was it worth getting cited for? Was it worth paying for all the van repairs? Was it worth having to mooch for a ride everywhere since I couldn't drive any more? Would I do it all over again if I had the chance? For all those wondering, yes, yes I would..