In 2011, I became a huge fan of the band One Direction. I loved their music and the members. I had One Direction themed birthday party, a ton of merchandise, went to the theater to watch their movie and have supported them through and through. After their hiatus was announced in 2015, I was devastated. But, I still listened to their music and supported the members individually. The lead member, Harry Styles, was the first to start his solo music career. In 2016, all the guys were busy creating and releasing their own music, and I loved it all, but Harry Styles was always my favorite solo musician. 

In 2020, Harry Styles was set to go on his worldwide tour “Love On Tour.” Covid-19 pushed the dates back to the end of 2021 due to the spreading, contagious, deadly pandemic. In December of 2020, I had received two concert tickets from my grandparents to the Pittsburgh concert, which was October 14, 2021. Opening these tickets was one of the happiest, unbelievable moments of my life. I immediately started crying tears of joy in complete shock. Since I had an extra ticket to bring someone to the concert with me, I chose to invite my aunt to take me. I daydreamed about this concert every day for months, and spent such a long time to plan my outfit, it had to be perfect. 

When the concert day had actually come, I couldn’t believe it. It took me up until the day of the show that I actually realized I was going to be in the same room as Harry Styles, who I have loved since I was five. I was excused from school at 11, and my aunt had come to pick me up. We grabbed my packed bags that were waiting at my house and began the trip to the city. 

Once we had arrived in Pittsburgh, it really sunk in. I was completely full of excitement. We checked into the hotel and started getting ready right away. I did my hair, changed into my outfit, and was ready to go. My aunt and I began our walk to the arena, passing by so many other girls dressed in extra outfits, colorful pants, and feather boas. Pittsburgh was full of “Harries.” We waited in line to get into the arena, and at this point my adrenaline was so high.

Once we got into the arena, it was the most fun atmosphere ever. Everyone was dressed as either different eras of Harry, bright outfits, fruits, or other things Harry likes. We used the restroom and it was now time for us to make our way to our seats. Entering the actual performing area hit me so hard, in the best way possible. One Direction music was playing from the speakers, causing everyone to share an enjoyable throwback moment and sing along before the show. Reading our ticket numbers, “Row 4.” Seeing this caught my attention, I hadn’t realized before this that we were seeing Harry from the fourth row of this sold out arena. It was way closer than I could have ever pictured once we got to the seats. 

After about 30 minutes of waiting, the sweet opening act, Jenny Lewis, comes out to perform her set list for the show. Although it seemed like people were not singing or even knew the words to her songs, the crowd was still cheering her on with great energy. After nearly a half hour of her singing her music, she exited the stage and all of the fans, including me, went crazy because that meant Harry was coming soon. 

After the entire playing of “Bohemian Rhapsody” on the speakers, a black box was rolled from one of the floor entrances and taken under the stage. If you are a Harry Styles fan, you would know the significance of this box. It had Harry in it! I was screaming my lungs out, and then Harry’s band comes behind the box and walks on the stage and takes their places. Suddenly the introduction video for the concert plays on the big screens, and now all the fans are going insane. This moment did not even feel real to me. I was now holding my phone out besides me recording the introduction and the stage to capture when Harry first rises from under the stage. Everyone was already screaming so loud, but it somehow got even louder. This was because Harry was up! It took me 20 seconds later than everyone to notice him rising, but when I did see him, tears started streaming out of my eyes so rapidly. He opened the concert with “Golden,” and went on to sing most of the songs off of his latest album at the time, Fine Line. With a few songs from his debut album, Harry Styles, Harry’s set list and performance lasted about an hour and a half. He interacted with the crowd countless times and just brought the absolute best energy. 

Once he closed the concert with “Kiwi” and left the stage, I was so shaken up and did not even know what to do. I never wanted to leave the arena. I was looking forward to that day since the Christmas when I got the tickets. My aunt and I walked back to our hotel that night, passing by piles of feathers from boas and outfits. 

We got back to the hotel and were starving at this point, so we ordered a pizza. The time was about 11 p.m., and the last time we ate was almost twelve hours before. We waited hours for the pizza, actual hours. It had finally shown up two hours later at 1 a.m. 

This entire day was one of my favorite days ever, and I will never be able to forget it. I cannot wait for my next Harry Styles concert, which hopefully will be sooner than later.