Feelings Made of Glass: My LP Story

This is super long.. so I don't expect a lot of you to read it, but I know there is some hardcore LP fans in the LPA, incase you missed this thread I posted on LPU, I wanted to post it on here.. figured it would be a good way to start off in the LPA since I Just joined up.

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Six guys... One Sound. It all starts from the beginning and let me take you there. Where my life basically began..about a young man just trying to make his way through life and all of the tough tasks that are involved along the way. One minute your on top of the world.. and in one second.. you are wondering why you are here. It was as if your feelings didn't matter, everyone would see right through them and not care about a single word or thought... I thought I had feelings made of glass.. Crystal Clear, but they would be seen right thru as if they weren't even real.. and at the same time, feelings that could easily be broken.

I'm Micheal. I grew up outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I have lived in the same area my whole life.. grew up without a dad until the age of 4 when my mom got re-married. I have never met my dad, but one day I do intend to and I think it is the right thing to do. I lived what I would call a normal life.. until I got into High School.. things got rough for me. My parents were never really there when I needed them.. and they seemed to not care about any of my decisions or what I did or cared about. I ultimatly never got through school, but its partly my fault. What hurts the most is things that meant a lot to me got no attention from my parents.. the things I was into never mattered and still don't to this day. Moved out now and almost 21, I have grown up on my own.. the hard way. But it has made me a stronger person. Everyday to this day, is a challenge, a challenge I am willing to take.. only for one reason, because I am still here despite it all and the non-believers. I didn't do it on my own though, I have to admit. I had help. Six guys and one sound helped me in life, and thought its hard to beleive to some... but I have always said "you don't feel what its like until you actually feel it". I can stand in front of anyone today, and look them in the eyes and tell them I am alive because I found something.. a rock, a shoulder, a sound.. Linkin Park.

Chester Bennington, Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn, Brad Delson, Rob Bourdon & Phoenix. Hybrid Theory//Linkin Park. I have always been a fan of music, but never have I had music become a part of me and my everyday life. But all for good reasons, Linkin Park music is my fuel. Introduced to the band in the early dog days of summer in the south east in 2001. I was on vacation with a friend from school in Little Rock, Arkansas. The CD was pretty much the soundtrack of our vacation, we played it all the time.. Hybrid Theory.. I still remember looking at the CD for the first time, the black soldier on a red background. Life was still going smoothly for me, I never had a problem really.. never knew what was coming though.. Never. I ended up buying the Hybrid Theory album later that summer and then I continued to listen to it as much as I could. Later that year is when things started getting rough for me.. from getting picked on in school, failing, parents not there for me and I just felt like I didn't have anything and when I tried to tell someone about my problems, no one was there to listen. I just played my Linkin Park CD and it helped me cope with my life and my issues. Later that year, I bought the DVD, Frat Party. Not knowing anything about the band until I watched this.. I found out quickly how much they meant to me.. I laughed and laughed watching them. When not laughing, I was listening to what the band had to say and all of their words meant so much to me. I said to myself I was never going to let go of this band because I had something that made me happy. From there.. in October, came my first chance to see them live. Halloween Night in 2001.. I saw Linkin Park for the first time, on the Family Values Tour. It was my first concert and I didn't know what to expect.. when they came out on stage.. I just let go.. everything that I was feeling, I just let it out into every lyric of every song they sang. I rocked out the whole night, until I could hardly stand up or talk. I had the best time of my life and it was the greatest night of my life to date.. and it had only just begun.

November 2001, I joined LPU. I joined the very first day it all started and I just had to be a part of the club, I borrowed the money to join that I eventually paid back to join the LPU. All day and everyday, I was online and posting on the forums, talking in the chat room, just doing everything I could to stay connected with other LP fans and Linkin Park. Through the years in LPU I have met plenty of really awesome people.. It is amazing how many people are out there that enjoy the things I do. I have been honored to see some dedicated Linkin Park fans in person that we basically connected through the music and it created a bond and a friendship that can't be broken. I don't talk to some of my old LPU friends as much as I used to but they are still around and deep down the feelings are strong for one another no matter what.. cause for that moment in time, we were touched by the music of Linkin Park and brought together by the music by meeting through the fan club. It was and is still a great thing.

I missed out on Projekt Revolution the first time around because I couldn't afford a trip to the nearest show to Memphis. But I still had a memorable year in 2002.. I bought Reanimation on the release date and during the month leading up to Reanimation I became a member of the elite Street Team that I knew nothing about until I was asked to join it. Later in the year, Jessica Bardas (LPU Founder) did the unthinkable and was talking to me online one night.. and appointed me a captain of Georgia.. right then and there while she was having a convo with me online. It had to have been my greatest accomplishment in life ever.. to some, it may sound crazy.. but I don't even think Jessica knows what she did that day.. she turned my life around even more then I thought It could get turned around.. cause now I even felt closer to Linkin Park, I felt like I was in the mix.. and I was giving back to the band by helping out in any way that I could.

2003 was the biggest year of my life though... and from my deepest thoughts.. I believe that no year will top this and I will remember it for the rest of my life. It started out in March.. I saved up to fly to Dallas, Texas for the LPU Tour and meet Linkin Park. It was my first time flying but I felt comforatable beacause I was flying with a friend that went with me.. Fellow LPU Member... Jonathan Laura (HybridLP). When I arrived at the show, I will never forget the first time I saw Linkin Park.. they were just chillin'. Bowling at the venue I was at because it had an ally in there. Having a good time. On my way in.. I bumped into Jessica Bardas and I thanked her for everything and it was a real honor to meet her, she puts in a lot of hard work. I want to one day tell her about the day she appointed me captain, how important that was to me. I got inside the pit and made it to the front.. this had to be the best show cause it was my first time seeing Linkin Park close up and performing. It was everything I thought it would be and more. For that moment, and I still carry it with me, it felt like I was on another planet.. it was so surreal. After the show was the meet and greet.. and I can remember it like it happened earlier today. I walked through and talked to every member... They will all pretty super nice, Mike and Chester were the most outgoing though. I still remember I told Chester, looking into his eyes.. "you guys are the reason why I get up in the morning and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart" He replied with a smile, "dude, thanks" and reached out his hand and I shook it.. that had to be the greatest moment of my life. A night that I will never forget. One month later, I went to Projekt Revolution in Memphis.. with Jeanne (LPHybrid) from Long Beach, CA. She flew over here to hang with me and go to the LP show and then down to Disney World in Orlando, really cool stuff and I had such a great time. I Did the Meet & Greet again in Memphis and I just walked through this time, didn't have much to say to the guys except for "Whats Up?"... haha. It was good to see them again though. The show was good, I got up front again and I had a really great time, even caught a Phoenix guitar pick at the end of the show, that was cool. The year isn't over yet... I had to go to Summer Sanitarium in my hometown. Turner Field, in Atlanta Georgia. There again, I Did the meet and greet.. just another simple walk through, Mike thanked and I said he didnt have to thank me and that I was honored to be a fan. Chester said he didn't remember me, but its all good.. I could only imagine how many people he meets. This time, I wasn't in the pit, I was out in the stands, but I still had a great time. 2003 was a big year for me.. I have never got out that much and done all of those things and I saw Linkin Park 3 times, that was just amazing.. I will never forget it.

This year, 2004, I moved out of home in April. Everybody has their ups and downs and believe me I have had my share of downs. Rather its being lonely, sad, depressed.. for whatever reason, I have been there. Relationships have really brought me down, I can't tell you how many times a girl has broken my heart, I guess only because I let them.. but it is only because I Care.. I can't help it, it isjust me, its how I am. I am a caring person and I can't be let down so easy because all of my break ups have been shocks to me.. but I have decided that I am going to let whatever happens happen, there is someone out there for me and i know it. About moving out... I had to move on and leave my house that I grew up in.. I couldn't be around my Mom and Step-Dad anymore. Derek, my Co-worker is my roomate and friend, my partner in crime if you will, lol. We get along well and he understands me. Projekt Revolution is around the corner and I have been asked to help out at the show by LPU. Work the Machine Shop Marketing Booth (LPU Booth) and pass out samplers.. It is a really cool thing and I am honored to help.

If you have read this, Thank you. I didn't expect many people to read all of this, and make it to the end.. but its not really the end, cause it never ends. Another concert is on the way for me and soon LP will drop another album and they will be there for me as they have always been.. they are a part of my life, they are my everything and I can prove it beacause they are all I have ever had and I will hold onto them forever.. because they are everything that is right to me in this world. Linkin Park means more to me then just a band playing music.. its six guys who show you the way, and show you to never give up and do what you believe in no matter what, but most important to never give up, and without them.. I would have let go.

 

Great story there man, i am always happy to learn that there are people out there who have been inspired and motivate by LP as I have been. I haven't had the opportunity to meet LP in person but I have been fortunate enough to see LP on stage. I can understand how you felt during the show, I also felt like I couldn't speak or move after the show was over.

 

Thanks for reading my story.

 

yeah. amazing story..

its nice to see that LP touches people's lives in special ways

i myself depend on Linkin Park music to get me through the day..

 

Great story, man. It shows LP's music can really have an effect on their fans

 

Good story

Linkin Park rocks!

 

I don't think your life story could do that

 

I don't think your life story could do that [/b][/quote]
BURNED.

 

Great story man! Welcome to LPA!

I'm glad that LP has been such an inspiration to you as they are to many other people. Don't worry...you'll find the "one"

 

Thanks for reading and for the kind responses from everyone, it means a whole heck of a lot to me.

 

cool story you have there. its nice to read things like that

 

It's a great story micheal.
Nice to see the way LP has insipired you and your life
and as Mike said:
"Take those negatives and turn them into positives"
That's the line I live my life by

 

Great story there, man.

 

Bloody hell, that was deep.
Your story has inspired me to better appreciate LP's music. Thanks!

 

*clapclapclapclapclap*





*stands up*





:wth:

 

I know it sounds crazy but i have been so emotionally moved by a few of there songs i have broken down and have either gone completely balistic and angry or mad and in a rage or just simply fallen to the floor and just lied there, crying...anyone else done that?

 

Are you impared to following directions?

Necroposting=no.

 

That made me cry for some reason. I totally share your feelings about the live concerts, I know what it's like. My story is kinda similar, LP helped me a lot, though I've never met them.

Edit: Sorry, didn't notice this was an old thread

 

Indeed.



*closes*