Humans of Oklahoma

“July 25 2016 was a day that changed my life forever. My best friend, Avery, had gotten into a severe car accident that put her into a coma. Avery was more of a soulmate. She was eight minutes older than me, she was my next door neighbor, she was my biggest fan. We did everything we could together, even if that meant I had to play sports I never wanted to play. It’s almost been three years since her accident and it still makes me sad every day. I planned on getting a tattoo in her honor as soon as the wreck happened. I spent so much time looking for something that could be worthy enough for her. Sitting on her bedroom floor, flipping through pages of one of her thousands of journals, I found what I wanted. It was simply, “I am who I am,” in her handwriting. It felt like she wanted me to see that, to know that she knows me for me. And that it’s okay that I grieve and I’m angry sometimes. It’s what makes me, me. I went and got this tattooed boldly on my arm on our 18th birthday. It’s a daily reminder of how much I miss and love her. I always get to carry a piece of her with me, and for that I am grateful.”

“In the past year I have been to 11 concerts, driven countless hours, and loved every second of it. February 17 was my third COIN show. I drove to Tulsa in the early morning hours to get into the queue at four in the morning. We all sleep on our piles of blankets on the sidewalks, excited for the night of music that lies ahead. I spend 14+ hours outside because music is more than just something to listen to in the car and while studying for me. The lyrics in a song have the power to make me happy or sad but most of all, make me feel understood. Listening to these songs live allows me to connect to the songs and the band members in a different way which makes all of the hours worth it. If you have never seen your favorite band live, I hope you do. It might even change your life like it did mine. As Chase Lawrence says, “How will you know if you never try.”

“We met at a Justin Bieber concert four years ago, and instantly became friends. I’m from Oklahoma and she’s from Colorado, so most of the time we see each other is at concerts. Usually during breaks from school we try to meet halfway to hangout, she’s flown to Oklahoma to meet my family and friends and I’ve done the same in Colorado. I can’t even count the amount of concerts we’ve seen together since we met. We have a lot in common but the most important is that we agree on music and artists. Music connects people in strange ways, even complete strangers. If it wasn’t for Justin Bieber, we wouldn’t be friends right now.”

“I still remember meeting her at the concert, she was wearing a huge bow in her hair. She had a sign that said something similar to mine, that’s the reason we started talking. Both of our moms hit it off too, they’re a big part in the two of us staying in contact. They drove us to countless concerts and in a way, her mom became my second mom. When we would go to visit one another, it was our moms who drove us and paid for hotels. Now that we’re older, we can drive ourselves but sometimes our moms come along to just hangout while we’re at concerts. My mom and I found friends forever, thanks to JB.”

“I grew up in Watonga, Oklahoma with my parents and four siblings. When I was in eighth grade my parents go a divorce, my dad got custody and moved us to Bethany, Oklahoma and once we moved there everything changed. My dad met this woman who already had two kids, who had multiple different medical conditions. Soon after they met, she became pregnant with their first child together. Once this baby was born, she got pregnant again before he even turned one, she had the next kid, then got pregnant before he turned one as well, had that kid, and got pregnant AGAIN before the previous baby was one. Finally she had a girl, which apparently is what she was trying for. I’m the only child in my family that has made it through high school and moved onto college. But unfortunately my dad threatened to stop paying for my school if I didn’t come back and help his girlfriend with their kids. So I did what any sensible college student would do, I sucked it up and got two jobs to be able to pay for everything myself. I’m onto my senior year of college about to graduate with a major in international business and I’ve paid more than half my loans off already. I haven’t talked to my family in a couple months, they only come around when they need something. But I’ve got a great group of friends that are more of a family to me than my blood family ever was. I’m so happy with my life and I owe it all to my friends who encouraged me through all the rough times.”