I saw Sabrina Carpenter live this weekend. I’ve had tickets to the “Short n’ Sweet Tour” since August, even before the new album came out. The day after the concert I was driving in the car with my mom and the woman on the radio said, “This may be the new Eras Tour.” That was exactly what I and my dear friend and graduated News editor Sophia noticed. The crowd ranged from 8-year-olds to women who probably work a nine-to-five. Almost everyone was dressed up in their best pop-princess outfits, and our “My give-a-fucks are on vacation” t-shirts got about a dozen compliments.

When I was a kid, I was a big fan of Taylor Swift. I stopped listening after “1989,” so I had no interest in going to the Eras Tour. I didn’t get the appeal and didn’t understand spending an exuberant amount of money on a concert. But as soon as Carpenter announced her tour, I was prepared to spend all of my savings if necessary. I didn’t expect the way that seeing a concert would totally change my state of mind.

I’ve been to plenty of rock concerts that left me feeling great, but I’ve never left a concert feeling so positive about life. I was so happy to be at a sold-out concert full of people who all share the same interests, and spend two hours dancing and screaming the lyrics with our flashlights out.

During “Sharpest Tool,” one of the more melancholy songs from the new album, nearly everyone had their flashlights up singing the words, “We never talk about it,” and relating them to their own difficult and heartbreaking relationships.
We all screamed when she debuted her newest “Juno” position (if you know you know), and everyone sang the la la la’s of “Coincidence.”

So, to all of the Swifties out there, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for judging the amount you spent on concert tickets, for traveling out of state for a concert, for bawling your eyes out and for spending months picking out an outfit.

We’re all just people trying to find something that makes us happy in a world where things can feel glum.

Before going into the concert, we were crossing our fingers that we’d have seat neighbors who were our age and actually cool. Those people ended up being Nate and Molly, two college students who drove down from Massachusetts to see Carpenter. Nate was even planning to go to her Boston show the next day.

We took photos with them, danced with them and exchanged numbers.
After the concert, we went to a cute little pub that should have been empty on a Wednesday night, but instead, it was graced by concertgoers. I’d like to give a sincere thank you to the DJ who mixed dance hits with Sabrina Carpenter songs. Because I turned to the girl next to me, a total stranger, and sang and danced with her.

Maybe it was such a good time because Sophia is so friendly and outgoing, which seems to rub off on me when I’m around her, or maybe it was the environment. But I don’t remember the last time I’ve bonded with random people like that. I feel like I hear about a time before phones when people made friends with strangers so easily, and that seems to have disappeared.

Events like concerts, sports games and millions of other public gatherings form an invisible string that ties us all together; free of judgment and full of love.