To this day, the happiest moment of my life was on July 21st, 2007. That was the day I met my ultimate true love, and went to my first rock concert. That was the day I screamed at the top of my lungs then didn’t speak for hours. It was the day I felt so alive that words couldn’t describe it. Everyone knows the classic middle school horror stories: not knowing where to sit at lunch on the first day, switching classes, and- heaven forbid- locker combinations. My middle school was no different. Gossip rained upon our innocent ears until we began to take it as truth, and girls threatened to end friendships just because others were branching out. People were tortuous. It was a game of sorts throughout our halls, and boy did losing the game have consequences.
One day after a particularly bad bout of he-said-she-said I came home exhausted. I retreated to my room for peace, quiet, and a little reading, all gossip free! I consumed myself in whatever book I was reading at the time. I finished at around nine thirty and was left with that devastating great-what-do-I-do-with-my-life-now feeling I’m often struck with after finishing a good read.
So I wandered around my house, bored out of my mind and depressed. My mom suggested I watch the movie that had most recently arrived in the mail from Netflix: Meet the Robinsons. About halfway through, I heard a background tune: “We’re the kids of the future, whoa! We’re the kids of the future, whoa! Everybody live ‘cause the future is now!”
I hopped online to find the artist. I knew it was a remake… a remake of a remake actually. But that’s all I knew, and I wanted to know who sang it. It was so catchy!
That’s when I saw them. Not for the first time, of course. They sang the theme song for a Disney show and had had a music video playing on Disney months earlier. It was, however, the first time it mattered. Because there they were in this music video, on a rotating stage, singing their music to a cheering crowd, and they were incredible.
The Jonas Brothers.
Hey, don’t laugh. Unless you’ve been a twelve year old, awkward girl then you wouldn’t understand. There is a mysterious appeal to a trio of dark haired, guitar-playing boys that others do not possess.
But they were a band, and I had no chance of ever meeting them or hearing those magical three words preteen girls dream of so I shook the brothers from my head and went on with my life. Sometimes, when I watched Disney, Kids of the Future would flash onscreen. I ignored the goose-bumps and focused on better things. Like how cute the twins on the Suite Life of Zach and Cody were getting. Or Oliver on Hannah Montana? Phew. Hottie!
I couldn’t stay away from them forever, though.
Fast forward three months to the end of the school year, the beginning of the summer before eighth grade. The time that would eventually earn the title: THE SUMMER OF JONAS. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
My friend Sarah was going to come over to my house to spend the night and watch a movie on our beloved Disney Channel. After the movie ended we heard an electric guitar strum and a voice (that now sounder much lower) sing: “’Cause an empty room can be so loud, but too many tears can drown it out so hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on. When you love someone and they break your heart don’t give up on love, have faith restart just hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on.”
And with that, Sarah and I fell in love. Middle school boy band love. How sweet it was.
She had a thing for the straight haired, sixteen year old vocalist Joe while I swore I would marry the curly headed guitarist, and newly changed voice that was Nick Jonas. So began the beginning of my Jonas Obsession; my SUMMER OF JONAS. It was on.
When I say obsession I’m not exaggerating. Every inch of wall space in my room was plastered with the boys’ faces. I ordered the first CD, the one I previously overlooked, and I paid extra for it to come autographed. Sarah and I spent our time analyzing every word to every song. We learned to play guitar for these boys! We poured over TeenBop, Tiger Beat, and J-14 for Jonas Brothers gossip. We read all the fan-fictions. We even wrote some… I joined Myspace so I could befriend them via social network. Our computer backgrounds were their faces. We could tell you their birthdays, favorite ice cream and ideal girlfriend. The Jonas Brothers became our lives. Sarah and I were rarely apart, our similarities and obsession making us more like sisters than anything.
Everyday we’d check Myspace for new tour dates. One in North Dakota? Please? Pretty, pretty please? Then, one day we noticed something we seemed to have overlooked before. Sure, no dates were planned for Grand Forks, but there would be one five hours away in Stillwater, Minnesota.
The plan began formulating in our heads. We figured all the details to get ourselves to that concert. We paid gas, we set up arrangements to stay with Sarah’s grandma for a few days, and we plead on our hands and knees for Sarah’s mom to take us to the show. We worked hard, and eventually heard the magic words: “Well, I guess it would be alright.”
Hallelujah, life was good!
We waited in line on the day of the concert then entered the outdoor makeshift arena to meet a swarming mass of teenage girls. We found some seats in the middle back, not too bad but not close enough for the band to see us. Oh well, I couldn’t focus on that considering my stomach was doing flips the bravest gymnasts wouldn’t dare to attempt.
It was so hot, and I was going to pass out, I just knew it. I craned my neck to look around the stage on the walk back to our seats. I was trying to get a glimpse of my husband-to-be! They would be performing on the river, on a floating stage, and all that I could see was a bunch of boats bobbing lazily. Frustrated, I gave up.
Finally two o’clock rolled around and the concert was going to start. The opening artist came onstage. Sarah and I pegged her as a Hannah Montana wanna-be after two songs and then paid her no mind. After a few songs, she thanked us and loped offstage. We waited fifteen minutes, nothing. A while later a representative from Radio Disney came onto the stage to talk to us. He said everyone who preordered the Jonas Brothers new CD would have a chance to meet the band after the concert. I swear, at that moment half the seats emptied and rushed over to the merchandise tent. Sarah and I exchanged a knowing look; we had already preordered the CD on the way in.
When the majority of the girls had returned, the Radio Disney rep spoke into the microphone, “And now, it’s my pleasure to present you with THE JONAS BROTHERS.”
An eruption of screams flooded out across the river and small town. Even those with their hearing aids turned off must’ve heard us.
Then there they were. They were onstage, playing their music, talking, bantering as Sarah and I had seen in all the videos. Only this wasn’t a video, this was real. I was really hearing them! Live!
It seemed to pass so quickly. First they were there; then they were gone, offstage. Later, we figured out it had been about an hour and a half. The phrase “time flies when you’re having fun,” had never been so appropriate.
After the concert, we lined up where we were instructed. We were told that the line was almost a mile long. I was ecstatic; only a mile separated me from meeting the Jonas Brothers!
There was gossip that two girls had passed out due to heat and excitement. Sarah and I sipped on Capri Suns, trying desperately to bring our blood sugar up. No way were we going to pass out before meeting the Jonas Brothers. After… well that was fair game.
Finally, we entered a cool, brick building. It all happened so quickly. I was talking to Kevin.
“Hi, I’m Kevin.”
“I’m Hailey.” I was shaking.
Kevin hugged me, “I hope you enjoyed the show.”
I shook my head yes and moved on.
“Hey, I’m Nick.” His smile was gorgeous. His curly hair looked like it did in all the pictures.
“Hi, I’m Hailey.” I stumbled. He hugged me. I noticed he smelled good. How was it that he managed to be all sweaty on a stage and smell so good right after?
When he pulled away he whispered one last thing to me before I was ushered forward.
“I love you.” Wink.
OH. MY. JONAS. At that moment I was alive, so alive that I felt like I could fly. I felt light, buoyant. I felt like someone could punch me in the face and I would hug them. I felt like I had just won the lottery. My own personal lottery: Nick. Never once did it occur to me that he probably said “I love you,” to all the girls that walked through the door, and I’m glad it didn’t. I probably wouldn’t have felt so in-the-moment, happy-go-lucky, alive.
“Hi! I’m Joe!”
Hug, et cetera. BUT NICK SAID HE LOVES ME! WITHOUT ME DOING ANYTHING TO PROVOKE IT!
Sarah and I exited the building, both in happy, naïve bliss.
“So was it worth it girls? The waiting? The planning?”
We didn’t say anything. As a matter of fact, we didn’t speak for three hours. And when we did, all we spoke of was our encounters. It was the most amazing, most spectacular, most incredible thing that had ever happened to us.
Time passed, and our passion continued. We entered contests; we hated Miley Cyrus for putting her paws all over my man. We waited with great impatience for Camp Rock, the Jonas Brothers Disney Movie, to air. Then, something changed.
I moved to Alaska and was in a state of utter loneliness. There isn’t much to do in the summer when you don’t have any friends. Once again, I turned to books. I decided to read a vampire series that everyone seemed to be talking about. The plot (a dangerous vampire falls in love with a mortal but also lusts after her blood) sounded terrible, but the cover was awesome and it was only ten dollars. Yes, this book was Twilight.
I read it in one night. I was hooked. I bought the sequel New Moon the next day and then when Edward left Bella I turned to my Jonas Brothers for comfort. Sadly, none came. I pounded my mouse angrily in search of music on iTunes. I stumbled across a separate and totally unrelated band. This band was Pierce the Veil. The lyrics reminded me of New Moon, of Jacob, of Bella’s struggles and of Edward’s cruelty.

So with that, an era ended. The Jonas Brothers are no longer the meaning of my existence, though sometimes I do indulge in some of their old music for old time’s sake. I have found a totally different genre: alternative. I’ve also realized that Nick Jonas and I are not going to get married. The Jonas Brothers live in a totally separate world than the one I’m living in, and that’s okay. And what about Pierce the Veil? Well, let’s just say Vic Fuentes and I are going to live happily ever after…