Last September when Niall announced the second leg of his world tour I was so excited for the chance to see him again. I was also freaking out because I had no one to go with and concerts have always been a group affair for me. This tour also offered meet and greet opportunities but those came with a hefty price tag of $700 so that was NOT happening. While I was going back and forth trying to decide whether or not to even go, I ended up buying row 12 tickets #oops. I had bought one ticket, had no one to go with, had no idea how I was going to get there and I was stressed.

Fast forward to the Sunday before the concert, I was about to go to sleep when I started thinking about how close I was going to be to Niall on Thursday. The twelfth row was sounding pretty sweet but I knew there had to be better seats out there somewhere. So I started looking at StubHub and SeatGeek and the resale option on Ticketmaster. There were a few things within the first five rows but I was on the fence about spending more money on another ticket when there wasn't a great chance I could sell my original ticket. After searching various ticket sites, I decided to see if anyone was selling anything on Twitter. I spend a lot of time on Twitter and I had seen some people selling tickets for other shows so I decided to dig around and see what I could find for the Chicago show.

Somehow, I stumbled across a girl selling one row four ticket that was right in front of the stage. I honestly couldn't believe my luck. At this point, it was already almost 3 AM and me was sure she was asleep but I direct messaged her anyway about the price and she answered right away. After working out a plan, I had actually secured a fourth row Niall ticket and I was shook.

Zoe Johnson

A few months back I had been talking with one of my Twitter friends and she offered to be my transportation for the concert so on Thursday, she and her friend came and picked me up and we went on our way to the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, IL. Once we got to the venue we went in and got merch and talked to some other Twitter friends. Finally, it was time for Niall to come on and he did not disappoint. He played all 13 songs from his album, a new song from the "Smallfoot" movie soundtrack, two One Direction covers (RIP), an unreleased song, and a Bruce Springsteen cover. Maren Morris came out and sang "Seeing Blind" with Niall and me and him had some major eye contact during that song not gonna lie. I took so many amazing pictures and videos and it was just so calming to be so close to him.

Zoe Johnson

I have never felt so safe and calm at a concert before, and I know I say that at every concert I go to, but the atmosphere that Niall creates at his shows is something I've never felt before. I was so emotional because the last time he was at that venue, he was on the Take Me Home tour with One Direction, that was the first time I had ever seen them, and I had been on the lawn for that show. The glow up was so real, I actually did that.

Zoe Johnson

I already miss Niall so much but he promised he'd be back to his favorite city in the United States (Chicago) as soon as he had written his next album. He's got such a bright future as a solo artist and I can't wait to see what he does next; I'm so unbelievably proud of him. Hopefully, he doesn't take too long on this next album because I want to start counting down the days until we're reunited again.