At about 10:30 on a September morning, I rushed to the Student Center to meet my friends to buy our Third Eye Blind concert tickets. Fortunately, we didn’t wait in line for too long. When we got to the front, the “seat or floor” question arose. Deciding to go along with everyone else, I took the floor seat and had no idea what I was getting into.

Oct. 10, 2009 will go on the growing list of new experiences for me. Not only did I see an actual band for the first time live and had an amazing time, but for the first time, I witnessed crowd surfing. I always knew what it was, but for the first time I actually saw it.

I loved the concert less than a half hour into it, as I was screaming and trying to sing along with the shoulder-to-shoulder mass around me. All of the sudden I felt a sudden pressure on my head. Looking up all I saw was a sneaker in front of my face. Thank God for the boys around me that lifted the enthusiastic spectator above my head, because that sneaker probably would have been the death of me, or at least would have resulted in a broken nose. But as soon as that fan was basically thrown to the front by the hands around me, another one soon followed, and another after that. Basically, the whole night I was desperately trying to prevent myself from getting kicked in the face, falling or getting fallen on.

However, in no way did this negatively affect my experience of the concert. It made it even more complete. After a while, I got the hang of things and I just lifted my hands whenever someone came near me. This became more fun than anything.

Crowd surfing to me is one of those things that you’ve heard of, but you feel like it just doesn’t happen, or at least it happens only in the movies. I came to find out that night that crowd surfing certainly is real and the “yellow-polo-shirted” security men certainly knew that too as they aggressively and strongly pulled people from the crowds as the traveling hands moved them to the front.

I reluctantly admit that I’m not too much of a fan of Third Eye Blind, but proudly managed to sing along to “Jumper” and “Semi-Charmed Life” in the midst of all the chaos. Given the popularity and notoriety of these songs, the crowd went nuts. This concert was a mind-blowing experience for me. The rush of people screaming and jumping around me and the frequent “crowd surfer” above my head are experiences I’ll never forget. And I even look forward to my next concert.

My “SPB FALL CONCERT 2009” wristband and concert ticket are proudly pinned to my corkboard in memory of all the fun that I had and the “craziness” that I experienced for the first time.