I remember looking at 'fangirls' of boy-bands and artists, screaming, crying and camping out to get a glimpse of their favourite star with a measure of pity, thinking, "I could never be like that".
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Yet there I was, at 27 years of age, joining some four million others in a desperate attempt to buy Taylor Swift tickets. In the days leading up to the pre-sale I was sleep deprived and stressed.
Hearing she wouldn't have a Perth show had been tough enough, but now, after 15 years of loving her music, I was faced with the possibility of not getting a ticket to her Eras Tour.
So, I signed up for a presale code...noticing that 3.6million people did the same... for less than 500,000 tickets.
Here's how my day went.
7.30am AWST Sydney pre-sale opens: My best friend and I log on to the Sydney pre-sale - we are feeling hopeful but nervous.
8.30am: People have started getting tickets - still not us. We play Taylor's music for moral support.
10.00am: 'Your turn to purchase tickets is coming soon', says Ticketek... Is the 'coming soon' in the room with us right now?!
11.00am: Starkly aware 800,000 people are going through the exact same thing.
11.30am: I call my mother in Switzerland - it's 5.30am her time, but I needed to give her the update... that I still don't have tickets.
12.00pm: Uh-oh.
12.15pm: Sydney is now SOLD OUT. My best friend and I shift over to Melbourne. We are sweating. I have cried twice, possibly thrice. Why are we doing this to ourselves??
Melbourne presale timeline
12.43pm: Have sent my boss updates. Texted my bestie again - neither of us are in.
12.50pm: Do you think I could moonlight as a security guard at a concert venue? Asking for a friend.
12.54pm: It feels like an hour since my last update... It has been four minutes. Send help.
1.22pm: We might not get tickets to this concert. I'm officially FREAKING OUT.
1.25pm: My best friend got in and it GLITCHED and kicked her OUT.
2.33pm: Melbourne has SOLD OUT. I feel like I've aged twenty years in eight hours. My inner-voice says 'stay online in case they randomly restock'.
3.34: I did in fact stay online, they did not restock. My socials are flooded with images of people getting tickets - I'm super happy for them but also devastated for us.
3.35: Of course unaware at this stage that Tay Tay would announce extra concerts, my best friend and I agree to try one more time at Friday's general sale.
But, just when all hope seemed lost...
4.13pm: A MIRACLE OCCURS.
Just as we were about to give up, after hearing the tickets were sold out... my best friend got in, we got the tickets. Screaming. Crying. This was the most emotional day. WHAT A TWIST.
Where it all began
My 'Swiftie' status started when I was just 13 years old, singing along to Love Story in preparation for a middle school talent show.
As someone whose country music knowledge went only as far as Rascal Flatts' cover of Life is a Highway from the 2006 motion picture Cars, I was taken by surprise at my sudden love of an artist with a country twang singing songs about life, school and boys.
But the enigma that is Taylor Swift captured the attention of multiple generations for a reason.
I know this sounds dramatic, but it felt like we grew up together. Taylor Swift has written a song coinciding with every important milestone and moment in my life.
Heartbreak? There's a song for that. Fighting with your friends? There's a song for that. Reflecting on a patriarchal society? There's a song for that.
I reflected on this as I sat all day, at the mercy of Ticketek, my laptop, my wifi connection, praying that karma really is "a cat purring in my lap 'cause it loves me" and hoping me not forwarding that chain email in year 7 wouldn't affect my chances
How did I feel? Like I would projectile vomit at any moment. I know that sounds bizarre - I'm a little OTT but I'm also self-aware.
Thanks for coming on the journey with me!
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Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
