Forever In My Heart

Ever heard of American Idiot? Yeah I know you all have, at least the Green Day album. Well I am going to tell you a little story about Green Day's American Idiot; the Broadway show that blew my mind.

What do I think of when people talk about American Idiot? I think of New York City, Broadway, an incredible cast, Green Day, all my new friends I have made, the way I felt when I saw American Idiot, etc. This list can go on forever. But the thing is that no one else wants to talk about it with me except for Emily and the friends I have made through American Idiot. Obviously I have no problem with that, but sometimes all I want to do is share it with everyone. I talk about it at school with my friends and all they say is "American Idiot; blah blah blah; It sucks; why would I wanna see that?" You know what? I get sick of it all the time.

Here is what I'm thinking. If you have never seen something, don't judge it. Those friends don't know the things that I have felt while seeing American Idiot and they never will. All it is is their loss.

I got the chance to see American Idiot twice in one trip; One time balcony seats and the other front row. Let me tell you that they were two different experiences that I LOVED. I am going to tell you about the front row seat experience because honestly it is more entertaining and it is when I truly knew that American Idiot would be in my heart forever.

It was a wednesday and our 3rd day being in the big apple. I had seen American Idiot for my first time on that Monday and I loved it. After that show Monday I was told that our good friend Shelly gave us her front row tickets that she got on Idiot Nation, and we were going on wednesday night to see it. They were couch seats. Emily's favorite guy in American Idiot was Michael Esper and we got the chance to sit right in front of him for 90 whole minutes! I was ecstatic. But I really didn't know until after how much this was going to affect my life. So wednesday evening my friend Emily and I were super excited. We went back to the hotel, changed, did our hair and makeup and also gulped down a Monster. We thought that would help us get pumped up for the show. Little did we know that it kind of made out nerves worse. Emily's parents walked us down to the theatre and got us situated and then we were off on our own. Correction: Emily ran ahead of us from our hotel to the Saint James Theatre. (That could have been the Monster, or maybe not :) )We went to go get our cushions because we thought that we wouldnt be able to see over the stage. We got to our seats and sat down. Man, let me tell you... MY HEART WAS LIKE A BOMB! (hehe) I was nervous, excited and my heart was racing faster than my own thoughts. Mine and Emily's stomachs were upset because of all these mixed feelings inside of us and we actually took Tums. (no joke) So i looked at my phone one last time and it was 10 minutes before the show was about to start. I turned off my phone and put it in my purse. (LIKE A GOOD GIRL) Emily and I were waiting for the famous " 1..2..3..It's Fuck Time." Little did we know time flew and we heard it! I sat back in my chair, hands shaking, skin feeling clamy waiting for the show to start. The sounds of the multiple television sets blared and my heart bursted. I barely noticed that by the time the curtain rised mine and Emily's arms were linked together. We were right there, so close we could actually touch them if we wanted to. I remember when Michael finally turned around and Emily and I squeezed our arms tighter as we silently fangirled. I actually remember Michael glancing at us a few times. Or maybe he wasn't. Who knows. It made us feel good; thats all that matters. We got super excited when Andrew came slamming on the stage right in front of us. You should have seen our faces when John almost kicked the beer bottle at our face during Boulevard. Emily was tempted to grab it off of the stage but she was afraid she was gonna get yelled at. Jelousy became of us while being so close to Michael and Jeanna makeing out on the couch during Holiday. Honestly it was hard NOT to glance over there while trying to watch what was going on in the middle of the stage. (guilty as charged) We could hear the whispers of Michael and Gerard while on the couch. Michael whispered something about his pants being ripped to Gerard. We enjoyed all of the spit, sweat and flying garbage that was thrown our way once in awhile. I remember us linking arms AGAIN as Michael sang his solo Novacaine. I was nearly in tears. But I held back my tears because I was afraid to cry. Emily and I felt terrible when we noticed Michael choking on his water in the beer bottle while trying to finish singing. I remember us noticing little things on the stage that amused us. There was a picture of Jesus shaving his beard on the wall. Once Emily pointed that out to me, we couldnt stop laughing. We weren't laughing loud, but enough to have the people behind us thinking that we were freaks. Emily cracked up when I tried to catch a piece of confetti that fell during Whatsername. :) By the time the cast started to sing Good Riddance, I was happy. I was content with what was going on right then and there. The cast was right there in front of me. When they stepped even closer after Good Riddance, I was afraid to scream too loud because I am a fairly shy person. I wanted a pick though, so I screamed a little. After they walked off the stage Emily and I grabbed our trash and Love Happened Here flyer off of the stage and ran to take our cushions back. I almost twisted my ankle as we were running down the stairs. I didn't care though. All I cared about was getting to be the first ones to stage door. We ended up getting pretty close. We had stage doored Monday so it was a little bit calmer.I still had all this adreneline pumping through me though. What we really wanted to get was a better picture with Michael Esper because the first picture turned out blurry.
We stood there FOREVER waiting for Michael to come out.

Wait lets take a detour. So Monday while Michael was signing playbills, he accidently skipped signing mine. We called him back and he said that he would come back. Sadly he forgot. I forgave him though because I knew that we were coming back Wednesday. Anyways...

Michael finally came out. His hair all wet. We felt bad for him because it was really cold out. He came back to Emily and she asked him for a picture again. Well I didn't know that I was supposed to get IN the picture, so I was just off to the side. Then I got yelled at by Emily because I wasn't in the picture! Well in all that commotion, Michael skipped my playbill AGAIN! This time I was afraid to call him back (again) so Emily yelled his name. He appologized and signed my playbill. Michael signed on the words -_-. But I was still glad and I appreciate him coming back. Later that night Emily was explaining that his breath smelled like M&M's..... Alright now I wished that I would have been in that picture.

We also had a fun time chasing down Tony Vincent down the street. We got to see him for one of his last shows. He was in a huge hurry, but he stopped and took a picture with us anyways.

After that trip, I logged onto twitter and followed every single Cast Member. I met tons of people that loved American Idiot and Green Day just like me. They had other things in common with me too! I still to this day talk to them and they are my Idiot Family. These people will always be apart of my life. I know that I will not meet everyone, but only they understand and have the same feelings as me when it comes to this kind of love. We have this special bond together and it makes us all happy. We understand eachother and laugh when all we do is fangirl over someone from the cast or ANYONE for that matter. I am so thankful for them and I love them very much.

American Idiot means so much to me. It made me believe that I can truly be myself and do anything I put my mind to. American Idiot is about growing up. It is about finding yourself and dealing with everything in life. No matter how much you have going on in your life, there will always be people waiting for you at home that love you and care for you very much. American Idiot will always be in my heart forever. I will remember everything about it. Every detail. I will be able to tell my own children about it and hope that they have something like American Idiot to help find themselves. American Idiot made me open up! I am still shy, but I talk more and more every day. I open up more with myself about my feelings and accept them. American Idiot is an amazing production that if you get the chance to see it, you should. It changed my life forever.

American Idiot will always have a special place in my heart <3

If the touring cast of American Idiot is coming somewhere near you, or even if you can travel, I HIGHLY reccomend you see it. See it, feel it, taste it, be it. You only have one chance, so why not take that chance?

A Lifetime Friendship

11 years ago during the month of October my life changed. Yeah I was only 6, but that's not my point ;) My mother and I were had our pumpkin bags at hand and ready to fill them with colorful leaves. We walked outside and it turned out that we didn't have enough leaves to fill up our pumpkin bags with. Across the street at the white house we could see a yard full of leaves. I grabbed my mothers hand and we make our way across the street. My mother kindly knocks on the door and a little girl and another mom walked up to the door. My mother asks the other mom if we could borrow some of her leaves. We all go outside and start filling up the pumpkin bags with the leaves. I remember shyly smiling at the little girl that was my age as we put the leaves in the bags. After the other mom invited me in to color in coloring books with her daughter. I accepted and instantly we became best friends.

 I am proud to say that Emily Reitzel is my BEST friend. She is with my through thick and thin, and I am with her through thick and thin. We have been with each other through tears, pain and happiness. We have experienced many different things together. We have gone through those middle school years with the awkward and fun stages. We have now almost finished our high school years together and are starting to move onto greater things in life. We have NEVER gotten into one fight that I can recall. I have had friends that I have had fights with, and I have lost them because they weren't true friends. We can laugh at the same things. We can tell if one is feeling sad, happy or even in a bad mood. We can finish each other's sentences. We can get really excited about things that NO ONE else understand. We can tell if the other thinks a guy is cute because of the faces we make. We ALWAYS know the other one's crush because it is really hard to keep a secret.

I can honestly say that we will be friends forever. I do not know that for sure, but I have a really strong feeling that this friendship will last for a lifetime.

Thank you so much Emily for being my BEST FRIEND for all these long 11 years.I love you and you are truly like a sister to me. <3

My Biggest Fan Contest Entry :)

Miranda A, Chesterfield MI/USA, 17 yrs old Favorite Channing Tatum Photo and Why: I had to choose this picture because it truly is my favorite. I had to look through all of my favorite pictures again to choose one. It was so difficult for me to choose a favorite. I chose this picture because it truly is a real picture. I don’t mean literally real. I mean everything about it is REAL. His smile isn't fake or he isn't trying too hard, or isn't trying at all. It caught him at a time where he wasn’t looking at the camera, and yet he still looks like a natural on the camera.  Favorite Channing Tatum Movie and Why:   Honestly it is very difficult to pick my favorite Channing movie. I LOVE all of Channing Tatum's movies and I am not lying. I would have to say that my favorite Channing Tatum movie would be She's The Man. I recently had a Channing Movie Marathon and I have come to She's The Man being one of my top favorites. Every movie is different and there are things that I like about them and things that I don't  always like. I picked She's The Man to be my favorite movie because I loved Channing's character the whole time. There wasn't a moment where I didn't like the character. In some of his movies I don't really care for the character at different parts of the movies. I absolutely LOVE the way that Channing played Duke. He was sensitive, funny, and adorable. That is how I see Channing Tatum in my eyes, so it kind of reflects my vision of Channing in a way.   Favorite Channing Tatum Scene and Why:   Now I should pick a different movie for my favorite scene but I can't. I have read the top 3 fans from last year and 2 of them said this same scene. I hate to say the same thing but it TRULY is my favorite scene. My favorite scene is in She's The Man when Duke and "Sebastian" are at the gym and Duke answers the phone when Olivia calls him. The way that Channing answers the phone is seriously the best way that I have EVER seen someone answer the phone. Whenever my friend and I watch that movie we have to rewind that scene over and over because it just makes us laugh. I actually tried answering my flip phone like that once, but it didn't work out for me too well. I don't think any other scene can beat that one :)   Favorite Channing Tatum Upcoming Movie/Show and Why:   My favorite Channing Tatum movie that is coming soon is The Vow. I am looking forward to watching all of the new Channing movies (believe me) , but I think that I am looking forward to The Vow the most. Other than Jenna, Rachel McAdams is one of my favorite actresses. Of cource Channing is my favorite actor (obviously) so I think that it makes it an awesome movie. I think that they will be perfect together in The Vow. Sometimes you can tell that some actors and actesses won't be good together. I just have a great feeling that The Vow will be a great movie just by the actor/actress combination. I also love the story line of the movie too and I am really excited that a movie that awesome has an actor as awesome as Channing in it.   Favorite Jenna Dewan-Tatum Photo and Why:   I really love this Jenna picture because as beautiful as Jenna is in real life it captures her true beauty on the camera :) I love her hair, make-up and outfit in this picture. There isnt anything that I hate about this picture.     Favorite Jenna Dewan-Tatum Movie and Why:    I haven't watched that many Jenna movies to be honest. I have watched way more Channing movies than Jenna. I would have to say that my favorite Jenna movie would be Step Up. I loved Jenna's Character in Step Up. I don't think that I can imagine any other actress playing Nora. Jenna was perfect in Step Up. She is beautiful, smart, and an awesome dancer. I love Jenna in Step up because her and Channing are perfect together. Step Up is my favorite Jenna movie because it is a beautiful movie with her in it.     Favorite Jenna Dewan-Tatum Scene and Why:   My favorite Jenna scene is the scene in Step Up where she and Channing dance on the rooftop of her secret place she goes to. I not only liked the dancing but I loved the chemistry between Nora and Tyler. I am a sucker for scenes like that.   Favorite Jenna Dewan-Tatum Upcoming Movie/Show and Why:   The Jenna movie that I am looking forward to most is Ten Year. I love that her and Channing are both in it and I am looking forward to watching their first movie together as husband and wife. It may not make a difference to a normal person but us fans see things in a different light. :) 　 Have I Ever Met Channing and/or Jenna?:   Sadly the only time I have met Channing or Jenna is in my dreams :) Hey I don't lie! I think it would be amazing to meet both Channing and Jenna. One day I hope to meet my Hero and his beautiful wife.     Why am I a Fabulous Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan-Tatum Fan?:   I have been a fan of Channing and Jenna ever since I saw Step Up in 2006. I first was a HUGE fan of Channing Tatum. I have watched all of his movies. I made a Channing Tatum wall with all of my favorite Channing pictures that is still on my wall today. I also made a T-shirt in 2009 with some of my favorite Channing pictures on it also and says: "I Love Channing Tatum" on the back. Chooseing ONE favorite picture was really hard for me :) Whenever any of my friends see anything to do with Channing Tatum the first thing they think of is me and my obsession. I know that I am obsessed and I hate how some people think it is such a weird thing. Everyone has their obsessions. I did love Jenna in Step Up and I became a bigger fan of her when she married Channing Tatum. I thought that they were perfect for each other. I was really happy that Channing found someone like Jenna to have in his life. Other than my grandmother and mother, Channing Tatum is truly my Hero. I continue to support Channing and Jenna and watch their upcoming movie's and shows. I will always support them :)

Some Stars Just Don't Play The Part

I feel like going on a rampage here. I don't think that this is right at all! There is a rumor going around on Twitter that Taylor Lautner is going to star in the American Idiot movie. This really upsets me and my fellow Idiots.

Yes some of us, including me, don't care for Lautner at all, but that is besides the point. In order to play a part in the Idiot movie, you have to have a concept about what the whole thing actually means. I doubt that Taylor even saw American Idiot. American Idiot has a true meaning that means the world to us Idiots. To have some so called "famous actor" waltz into something that is our baby does not and will not make any of us happy.

So Billie Joe, do you want people to see your movie just because Taylor Lautner is in it? Do you want all of your fans and the American Idiot fans to be upset with you and the director? Do you want your movie to LOOSE the true meaning to it? I don't think that Billie Joe wants that to happen and hopefully he won't let something like that happen.

We all want the original Broadway Cast to play in the movie, but if that doesn't happen, at least get some normal actors and not the stuck up actors that we all know will not play the part right.

For Example: We all know how much I LOVE Channing Tatum. If Channing Tatum was going to be in the movie I would still be a little upset. I don't think that Channing would play a good part in that kind of movie. AND I am even obsessed with Channing.

So see, it really makes a difference to people who plays in something that changed their lives. American Idiot changed my life and I don't want someone like Taylor Lautner in MY movie.

Sparks? I Think So!

Today, I find my self loving Nicholas Spark's books more and more each day. I actually find myself writing a lot more too. I absolutely LOVE Nicholas Spark's novel's.'

 I have read, The Notebook, The Rescue, The Guardian Dear John, The Last Song, and I am now reading True Believer. I plan on Reading all 16 books, and the new one coming out in October. I really didn't use to like reading until I read my first Nicholas Sparks novel. For some reason, I just feel so relaxed when I read his books. It is kind of funny.

I never saw myself as a person who would love to read books because I used to HATE reading. I used to skim through all of my school books because I didn't want to read them. I think that people should read more Nicholas Sparks novels because they are funny, sad, romantic, and you always love the amazing endings of the novels. I never get let down by a Nicholas Sparks novel. My favorite novel so far is The Rescue. I loved that book because I loved the connection between Taylor and Kyle. Sometimes I found myself crying while reading that novel. I truly recommend reading Sparks!

To tweet or not to tweet?

As we all know Twitter is becoming more popular every day. I am also a Twitter user and honestly I LOVE it! I use it way more than Facebook. I hear a lot of people think it is dumb but I don't think that at all. For Facebook, you pretty much have to know the person in order to add them, and most people will not add random people. For Twitter, all you have to do is say something, and if someone likes it they will follow you, or they will start to talk to you. They find you with similar interests, and similar people who you follow.

I have a huge circle of followers that I adore. Yeah, it may sound weird but it's not weird at all. I have made friends from all over the world. I have made friends that are from my home town, and I have made some that are not even close to where I live. I love these people with all my heart. We have connected in a way that only we can explain. People look at me funny all the time when I tell them about my Twitter friends, or if I even talk about them. The people that give dirty looks have no right, because they are missing out on something that an give you more hope than ever. I have my friends that give me advice. I have my friends that I can talk about my obsessions with. I have my friends that make me laugh, and smile. I have my friends that I can give advice to. All of these "friends" have become my family. I don't care what anyone else says, I will always connect with my tweeps.

Here is just a small list of my family:
@andscreaming, @sunshels, @lolas_ramblings, @cerichards21, @lizsername, @whatsername43, @stjimmysinned, @jtdscape, @mollykessler, @yankeegirl51680, @mamatheangels, @amy_sposito, @jennihinchey,@sunshiineeee, @grassmahgirl, @honest2groff


Follow me @ChanManTatumLuv and see if we can connect in the same way that I have to all of these people.

What do I miss about "American Idiot"?

You know a lot goes through my mind when I get asked this question. I had a friend that asked me this the other day. Honestly I miss WAY too much. I miss EVERYTHING.

I miss the excitement you get while sitting in the St. James Theatre seat waiting until curtain call. I miss the way your heart drops when Michael Esper turns around on the couch. I miss the way John Gallagher Jr looks his first line. I miss the way Stark Sands approach looks on stage. I miss Rebecca Naomi Jones's first drop of a pretty note. I miss Theo Stockman's bus solo. I miss that amazement you get during favorite son. I miss that moment when you feel like your going to cry when Stark sings "Are We The Waiting." I miss that Thrill you get when Tony Vincent comes running on the stage. I miss the glitter St. Jimmy throws. I miss the way Johnny and Whatsername Sing "Last Of The American Girls/She's A Rebel." I miss Johnny's little Delawarean accent. :) I miss the way that Michael cries during "Give me Novacaine" I miss the way I used to get majorly jealous when Will made out with Heather. I miss the way I felt when Tunny and Extraordinary Girl flew in the sky. I miss the way they reshow everything during "Whatsername." I miss the way you got to see more with the encore "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life.) I miss stage door. I miss that theatre. I even miss the body guard John.

There are so many mixed feelings during the show and after the show. The show left you with a feeling that stays with you for the rest of your life. I honestly will NEVER forget the way I felt the first time I saw American Idiot, and the time I saw it in Idiot Nation seats. They were totally two different experiences and I am so glad that I had an opportunity to go with my best friend and see the show for the first and last time. I want to thank Michael Mayer, the cast and the man that made everything right, Billie Joe Armstrong. American Idiot was a HUGE part of my life and it will always be. The way I felt on American Idiots last performance was out of this world. I felt like a part of me was being crushed into a million pieces. The fact that it is coming to my home town for the tour, keeps me going. I will always be an Idiot <3