Christmas morning, 2019, I unwrapped a heavy cardboard box. Inside was a watermelon and a bag of Domino sugar, my mother’s creative way of telling me I’d be seeing Harry Styles’ “Love on Tour” in the summer of 2020. COVID clearly had other plans, but after almost two years of waiting and roughly 900 miles of travel, I found myself at the Wells Fargo Center in my home state of Pennsylvania, anxiously waiting for Harry to take the stage.
The energy in the room was indescribable. Harry himself told the crowd, “I’m not going to lie to you Philly, I’m in a great mood. I don’t know why but I’m in a fantastic mood. So tonight is going to be special.” Special it was, but it was over far too quickly for my liking. This was my first concert since the pandemic and there’s really no feeling quite like being back to doing what you love.
I’m glad to wear a mask if it means getting to see my favorite artists perform again. Like so many others, the idea of returning to concerts helped me to stay positive during quarantine and gave me something to look forward to. All of a sudden, the night I had been looking forward to for 632 days was over.
As I made my way out of the venue, I saw I wasn’t alone in the feeling. I’ve never seen so many sad girls adorned with glitter and feather boas. In the coming days, the feeling of what many refer to as post-concert depression only got worse. After a whirlwind 48 hours in Pennsylvania, I made my tearful return to Florida, clutching my suitcase in one hand and tour poster in the other, with a new goal in mind: scour the internet for a reasonably priced ticket for HSLOT Orlando.
Thanks to some lovely stranger on Twitter, I secured a ticket. The ‘reasonably priced’ part is somewhat debatable, but the excitement of seeing Harry again was enough to persuade me. I’m glad I did it because seeing Harry Styles wearing Minnie Mouse ears is something I didn’t know I needed. The end of the Orlando show brought about an even more crushing sadness because I was not spending any more money on this tour (admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery).
Will I ever stop talking about my HSLOT shows? Probably not. If you’re anything like me, you’re still looking back at all of your concert photos and videos even weeks later, wishing you could relive it all. But Harry said it best- “we’ll be alright.”
I wrote this while wearing my HSLOT merch and listening to Two Ghosts, so obviously I am coping quite well.