I had this best friend in college, her name was Meaghan. Meaghan was a gift. I don’t even have words to describe the type of person she was; she was more than amazing. She had so much love and care in her heart. Well, Meaghan didn’t always make the smartest choices. But you could never talk her down from the choices she did make. March 8, 2015, Meaghan had just traveled up to Buffalo, New York by herself from Salem, Massachusetts to go see her boyfriend. I was not fond of the idea. A friend called up my roommate (who was also one of Meaghan’s best friends and mine) and said she saw an accident on the news that occurred on the Mass Pike where an unidentified woman had died on site. Being the person I am, I thought everyone was getting ahead of themselves and we tried to resume our day.

A half an hour passed and this is where I got worried since none of us could get a hold of Meaghan; the whole “she’s driving, that’s why she’s not picking up” came into play. Then I contacted her boyfriend who stated he had spoken to her around 8:45 a.m. and at this point it was well after 10 a.m. Now I started to panic. Cue the phone call that changed my whole entire life. Her brother calls my roommate and I think you all can understand what happened next.

This is where music comes in. Attending a Twenty One Pilots show was never the same. Most activities are never the same after you lose someone. You become a different person. A piece of you tends to die with the person. I remember attending my first show after the incident. June 14, 2016, Boston Massachusetts at Agganis Arena. I went with my sister and three close friends I met through the band/fanbase.

If you are familiar with the duo, you know they always end with a song called “Trees” - well it hit me harder than words could ever express. Tyler Joseph hit one note on his keyboard and I just felt this rush of emotions leave my body. It’s a song I always resonated with Meaghan, but having it live, in front of you, is a more powerful feeling. As Tyler screamed the words “hello” I just felt this overwhelming sensation over me, as if Meaghan was with me. I cried openly in front of a crowd of thousands of people and I didn’t even care. I can’t even listen to the song to this day without crying. I am teary eyed typing this out in the airport. She passed back in 2015 and the song still hits me with so much power. I cry to this day, every time I hear it in concert. Music does that. Music is that power.