I Can't Calm Down, I am Going to Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour!

I was a dreamy teenager when Taylor Swift’s Teardrops on my guitar hit me right in the feels. Right then and there, I found myself longing for a guitar of my own. And so, my guitar era began.

Fast forward to high school, my circle of friends and I had this ultimate Taylor Swift jam session during breaks. To us, the school was like a mini-concert venue, with our guitars in hand. From then on, Taylor’s music became the soundtrack of our lives.

So, when she announced the Eras Tour, I knew I had to be a part of it. But boy, no concert in the Philippines! The universe must have been testing my loyalty as a fan. I can hear Rihanna singing, ‘What are you willing to do?’. 🤣 Guess what, I was willing to do whatever it takes, even if I had to fly to another country just to be at the concert.

Word on the street was that Singapore was the only Southeast Asian stop for the tour. I mentally prepared myself for what was to come because it means there’s a Great War with other Southeast Asian Swifties. With my determination, I know I’d win this war.

The first move? Fan registration.

_{Fan Registration on Ticketmaster}

I signed up and the waiting game began. The anticipation was real, knowing that only those lucky enough to receive an access code could buy tickets.

With over 8 million people registered on the first day, it was like a battlefield, but I was confident that I’d get those tickets.

Being a part of a Filipino Swifties group on Facebook helped me strategize.

I even convinced my family to register for the fan registration, and my dad jokingly said he’d come too if he got chosen 😂 Sooo supportive! He was the one who bought me my first-ever guitar when I was younger because he knew how much Taylor’s music inspired me.

_{Successfully registered!}

July 5 came and an email notification brought me mixed feelings. My family and I were on the waitlist, even my friends, too!

That night, my sister brought some good news, she received an access code! I couldn’t contain my happiness! That night, we started planning for the general sale.

My sister has an appointment, so we made a deal: I will be the one to brave the virtual queue for the general ticket sale. There’s no guarantee, we’re not even sure how many people are lining up for this. Even so, I’ve got that hunch, we’ll have our tickets!

The general sale day came. We agreed in our group chat that we should log in early because the site might crash around 11 am, and if we miss the chance, we might not be able to log in later. So, I logged in early to secure my spot.

_{The holding area - a virtual purgatory for anxious fans like me}

They suggested using just one browser and one tab to avoid breaking any rules. If we got kicked out of the queue, we’d lose the chance to buy tickets. So being the good girl that I am, I followed their advice. I only used Google Chrome with a single tab open. I didn’t even consider using other devices for fear of breaking the rules. Plus, I had this gut feeling that this was my ticket to secure our tickets.

_{The holding area - a virtual purgatory for anxious fans like me}

At exactly 12 noon, the holding area page refreshed, and there it was - my queue number: 477606! I couldn't help but feel a bit of jealousy when some in our group chat boasted about their lower queue numbers: 5000+ and 10000+! Lucky peeps!

Then there were those who claimed to have a 1M+ queue number! Well, that’s the kind of million I wouldn't want to experience 😅 Nonetheless, I remained loyal to my one browser, one tab, and my 477k queue number. I believe I'll get those tickets; after all, nothing is impossible.

In the midst of it all, there's a guy walking on a bar, symbolizing my queue progress. I couldn’t help but cheer him on like my life depended on it. If only I could book him a Grab car so he wouldn't have to walk - I would! 🤣

After 20 minutes, I felt like my man wasn’t making any progress. I admit, I have trust issues 🤣 I had to use my notepad just to be sure he’s actually moving.

	see that notepad? 🤣

My man has been walking for three hours. He’s now halfway through the bar.

Just a few steps away! Go little man!

In this moment, being queued at 400k turned out to be an advantage because I could learn from the experiences of the people ahead of me.

Finally, the bell rang, and it was my turn to enter the ticket-selling page. My heart raced as I entered the access code, but a moment of panic struck when it didn’t work!! I quickly messaged my sister, luckily she’s online, to get the correct access code. When she sent it, I hurriedly checked the sections, but our desired ones were already sold out.

With limited options, I clicked on whatever was available. At that point, I didn’t care about the section or the date, all I wanted was to secure the tickets. After all, just being given the chance to buy tickets felt like a gift.

I had another heart attack when the page transformed like this after I selected the sections.

I rushed to check my account, and there it was - FINALLY! Victory was mine. I had my pass to the Eras Tour!

At that moment, I couldn’t help but jump and do my own happy dance 🤘🏼😁

To be absolutely sure, I doubled-check the email for confirmation, and there it was. See you soon, Taylor Swift! 🥺😭

After securing my tickets, a newfound friend added me to the official March 7 Eras Tour group chat. There, we connected with other Filipino Swifties who, like us, won the great war and secured their tickets for the March 7 concert in Singapore. As of now, there are 247 excited Filipino Swifties heading to the event!

That day felt surreal. I couldn't help but entertain thoughts of "what ifs."

What if I got kicked out during the queue?
What if I couldn't secure the tickets through Ticketmaster?

Suddenly, it all hit me at once. I had only used one browser, one tab, and ended up with a high queue number, but everything went smoothly. I must admit, as the minutes and hours ticked by, the temptation to check Klook and other alternatives did cross my mind. But, I stayed on my chosen path and kept my eyes glued to the single tab. I didn't bother with a backup plan because deep down, I knew I'd get those tickets from the very beginning, and I did. Was it luck? Maybe.

So here I am, counting down the days until the Eras Tour. It’s amazing how a love for music can drive us to do things we never thought possible.

It’s amazing that all it took was one browser, one tab, and a high queue number to make my dream come true.