Ever since the passing of my father (read the post below), I have been passionate about helping others in any way I can. I try to channel all of my negativity into something good instead of dwelling on it. I’ve ran races for charity, organized fundraising events, and someday hope to start a foundation/charity of my own. Giving away those 10 M&Gs was hopefully a small step in the right direction to someday achieve this goal. It’s undeniable that Justin Bieber brings happiness and hope to others. Plain and simple. Older than Justin or not, I look up to him. He and his team inspire me every single day to be a better person and NEVER take anything for granted. That is why I did what I did.
How did I do it? As Justin grew rapidly in fame, I knew a tour would soon follow. That’s when I started saving. This was sometime in 2009. When Justin did the “My World” Tour I was away at school, double majoring, playing field hockey, and working. Attending the tour was completely out of the question. It was upsetting, and I knew many other fans were in similar situations as I – that they would do anything to attend a JB show but events beyond their control were preventing them from doing so. At this point I had been saving almost a year, and had a decent amount of money set aside. At this time I hoped to just be able to give away a few tickets for a few shows in the future. That’s when I decided I could do something bigger and better. I saw the reactions on faces when Justin hit the stage (via YouTube when I probably should have been studying for an exam WHOOPS). It was clear he brought joy and happiness to others simply with a wave, a smile or that dang hairflip. This Jimmy Kimmel video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKEQwvaYI_k) is the reason I did what I did. The day I watched this was the day I decided I was going to do everything I could to help as many girls meet Justin. So the input to my savings increased, and I started taking on more hours at work.
So first round of the Believe Tour was announced, and I had been working full-time for half a year at this point. I saw how much I could save working full-time and living at home, so I decided to not doing anything with the money just yet. I was going to wait until a little longer and I am VERY happy I did. Luckily, the second American leg was announced and I decided I was going to do whatever I could to help whoever I could. I wrote down all the dates I could possibly make it to. Put in a request for all those days off, and I started financially planning my next moves.
This part I need to make VERY clear. I did not ONCE sit on the computer and wait for tickets to go on sale/pre-sale (I didn’t even have an active Bieber Fever account at the time) and then try to buy them all up. Each and every M&G I purchased this leg was purchased at most, 2 weeks prior to the show from scalpers for an outrageous price. So all of this “it’s not fair she’s taking someone else’s opportunity away” is incorrect. I waited until the last minute to purchase them in hope prices would go down – L O L at that last sentence because that never actually happened. I hate scalpers for the record.
Also, the M&Gs can only be purchased in sets of 2 (as far as I’ve seen). So yes, that means that I met Justin each time I gave away a M&G. That was because when I informed my mom of what I was doing she said she would only support it if I went as well. She was concerned about me spending that much money on a stranger and was concerned people would just use me for a chance to meet Justin and easily forget what I did. She wanted me to gain something from the experience as well.
So that is what I did. I set a goal. I did everything I could to reach that goal. And in the end, I achieved that goal. 10 girls got to meet Justin Bieber because of the money I set aside. No secrets to hide. That is all I did.
If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or whatever about the above you can contact me via Twitter (@alicia_tamboia).
- Alicia
