Oh, the lengths this fangirl had to go through to watch Bieber live
I HAVE a secret. I?ve long had a crush on Justin Bieber, even before his purple hoodie and hair-flip days. He was just a gawky teenager then, singing a song with only the phrase ?One Time? in its lyrics.

I found myself closely watching this wisp of a boy who would later take the world by storm. I had kept this feeling hidden for about two years, mindful of what my friends would say?until recently, when the ?Biebs? became a worldwide sensation and people of all ages were more appreciative of him.

Cut to recently, when it was announced that Bieber would have a Manila leg for his ?My World? tour; I woke up to the feeling of Christmas morning. It turned out there were a lot of us fans with huge smiles on our faces, knowing we could be seeing our idol in person.

We weren?t alone. Justin?s fans come from different countries across the globe, who formed ?Beliebers.? It was an ode to Bieber?s extraordinary talent?and for continuously making us blush with his schoolboy charm and virtuoso performances.

Dilemma

However, such euphoria was short-lived. I found out the concert would be on the same day as my father?s birthday celebration. My first dilemma was how to secure tickets, since it was pretty pricey for a concert. The bigger dilemma was, since I was an only child, how to tell my father I would be missing his birthday because I wanted to be someplace else with another man.

In pursuit of being a fangirl, I devised a plan. If my father saw how serious my Bieber fever was, maybe he would allow me to miss his birthday celebration.

It was timely that the documentary ?Never Say Never? about the young superstar was showing in the cinema. It had a lot of good reviews, so it was an easy feat to drag my dad to see the movie, to give him an instant Bieber orientation. I was able to convince my father that my Bieber infatuation was not to be taken lightly.

My next problem was securing a ticket. My mother had taken pleasure in watching me fantasize about a ticket. She came up with a deal; she would give me the tickets in exchange for doing some chores and errands.

Justin live

I had to go to great lengths to attend the concert, but there I was, ecstatic to see Justin live. Prior to that evening, I attended a get-together with my friends, who were Belieber converts. We memorized the lyrics to his songs, so we would sing perfectly on the big day.

His biggest hit, ?Baby,? was a fan anthem. I made sure I memorized the rap part, in my great hopes that I would be discovered and be asked to go on tour with him.

My other wish was to be serenaded by Bieber, but that was also the wish of all the screaming and teary-eyed girls present in the concert.

The whole Bieber concert experience made us all less lonely, less crabby, more alive, and more in tune with the world that night as we sang, in perfect cue, to all of his hits. We gushed when his home videos as a toddler were shown, and screamed ?I love you Justin? at the top of our lungs in unison. The Beliebers came in full force --and I, coming out of the fangirl closet, felt right at home.