The Worst Karma I’ve Ever Experienced

It all started when I got a notification for a chance to win tickets to see my favorite band. The tickets could only be obtained by entering a contest. I immediately entered my information and told my friends to do the same. The codes to unlock the tickets would be sent out the next day to the lucky winners. When tomorrow arrived, we were on edge to see if any of us would get a code. Approaching night, my friend received a code. She had an hour to buy these tickets until the code expired, but the code only allowed for the purchase of two tickets… there were three of us. Without thinking, we bought them. We’ll figure it out later, right? Maybe we’ll get another code within the next hour, but for now, she had to choose one of us to take to the show. Once the day came to an end, we realized weren’t receiving another code. I was desperate to be chosen. This band helped me through so much, so I persuaded her to pick me. This decision would soon be the cause of the worst karma I’ve ever experienced.

Soon enough, it was the day of the show. We got in the car and we’re on our way. The feeling of butterflies started to form in my stomach as the realization hit. “Are we seriously about to hear the songs we’ve been blasting in our headphones all theses years, live tonight?”, I thought to myself. Hours later, we arrived at the venue, got out of the car, and got in line; waiting in the hot sun. We ran straight to the pit once we got inside. I couldn’t believe it; we were so close to the stage. However, this began many hours of standing in 90 degree weather with the sun blazing on us. Our backs were in so much pain from standing. Everyone was demanding for water, but security refused. Three painful hours passed and the anticipation was building. I checked the time; it was 9:45 p.m. Finally, the wait was over and the curtains dropped.

I tried to enjoy the show as much as I could, but my main focus was staying conscious. It was hard to focus my attention towards the band due to dehydration, but I wasn’t the only one struggling. I noticed a girl staring at the ground instead of dancing like everyone else. Her friend attempted to pull her more towards the front, where he was. He grabbed her arm and yanked her forwards, splitting open the healing self harm wounds on her forearm. Immediately, I pulled her back towards me. She grabbed her arm and let out a yelp before falling to the ground. I kneeled down and demanded that she get back up before everyone pushed forward, almost trampling her. As time passed by, she seemed to have recovered from the situation.

A few songs later, the singer stopped the show, “there’s someone that needs help in the pit. Let’s try to get in there and get them out of there, please”. He politely asked security to help an unconscious fan out of the crowd. During the interruption, two girls asked if I could help them out of the pit. I paused, debating whether to leave or toughen it out for the rest of the show. We locked arms and made our way out. Afterwards, I reunited with my friend, who was standing on the outermost layer of the pit. We watched the rest of the show from there and the view wasn’t so bad after all.

Overall, this experience has changed my thinking, not only for future events, but future situations where I have to make a decision. This event stemmed from a selfish decision I made months before. It was wrong of me to leave my best friend out of an experienced we’ve been dreaming of for so long. I should’ve given her the ticket instead, but more importantly, we should’ve left the tickets for someone else to have. In the end, I wish I never took that ticket. A silly concert wasn’t worth risking a valuable relationship of mine.