Friendship Brings Access to One Direction
marieroubidoux
O
ne Direction. You’ve seen them
on TV. You’ve seen them on
t-shirts. You’ve seen them on
billboards, posters, notebooks, everything.
Freshman Madeline Allen got to see them
in the living, breathing, British flesh in
New York City at Madison Square Garden.
Not only that, but she didn’t have to pay a
single cent.
On a Monday night in November, Allen
got a call from her friend Ashley Campbell, a junior at Roncalli. “Guess what! I
won a Sharpie contest!” Campbell had
entered a contest on Facebook through
Sharpie which offered an all-expense paid
trip to New York City for the winner along
with eight of her friends to see One Direction. Out of 30,000 entries, the Roncalli
junior was picked. “They [people from
Sharpie] called her [Ashley] and told her
Marie Roubidoux
Newspaper Feature
Writing
A2 Marian
she would be the winner if she answered
a question in 24 hours...I think it was one
of the band member’s birthdays,” Allen
said. Needless to say, Campbell answered
the question correctly and the excitement
began. However, Campbell wasn’t just
calling to share the news- she was inviting
Allen to go with her.
The girls showed up to a small exclusive
airport at 6 a.m. on Dec. 3 for their flight
to New York in their own private jet. “We
talked to the flight attendant and he told
us about famous people that had flown
on the same plane as us. It was so crazy!”
Allen said. It turns out they were flying in
the same seats as celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, members of the Glee cast, and
David Beckham.
See One Direction p. 6
One Direction: Freshman visits the big apple
continued from p. 1
After the airplane landed in New York,
the girls hopped into their personal limo.
As they were waiting to drive off, the girls
saw someone emerge through the airport
doors. The limo became atwitter as they
realized they were five feet away from the
one and only, Zac Efron. “We rolled down
the windows and started screaming his
name and he looked over and smiled and
waved. His security guard kind of pushed
him along, but it was still really cool,”
Allen said.
The group arrived at their hotel located
in the middle of
Times Square after
driving around
the Big Apple. “I
had never been
to New York and
neither had any
of the other girls.
People kept
coming up to our
limo trying to
get a look inside
because they
thought we were
famous,” Allen
said.
After checking in and putting all their
luggage
and belongings
in their
hotel
room,
the girls
were
off to
explore
the city.
First
stop: 1D World, a whole store dedicated
to One Direction. The girls received gift
bags with signed One Direction CDs,
concert paraphernalia, and $200 worth
of Sharpie products.
After some intense shopping, the
girls worked up a strong appetite and
headed back to their hotel for a paid
meal. While they were eating dinner,
they ran into Ashley Benson and other
members of the Pretty Little Liars cast
at a party above them. The waves and
smiles the actors gave made the dinner
something the girls would never forget.
It was finally concert time. “We took
our limo to Madison Square Garden
and blared One Direction music all the
way there. Our personal photographer
followed us everywhere, and made us
feel even more like celebrities,” Allen
said.
First the girls went to a special V.I.P.
section just for Sharpie where they
decorated pillows and took pictures,
but the celebrity encounters just kept
coming. “Ariana Grande [from the
Nick show Victorious] was like, the
Bright Lights, Big City. Madeline, pictured in the middle, and her friends pose
head sponsor of the event. We got to
in Times Square wearing their One Direction lanyards the night of the concert.
meet her and hang out with her for a
Photo courtesy of Madeline Allen.
while. She was so cool!” Allen said.
After hanging out with Ariana, the
girls got some unexpected visitors that
shrieked in excitement; they knew this was
“They were way better live than I
were coming to hang out with them: the
going to be a rocking concert.
expected. I liked hearing them in person
band members’ moms and girlfriends.
Seated on the side, the girls had a
more than I did listening to them on a
“We didn’t get to take pictures with them
perfect view of the stage- but also of Zayn’s CD,” Allen said.
but they were still really nice. They had
family. “Zayn’s family sat right in front of
The girls flew home the next day and
super thick accents,” Allen said.
us. We got to talk to them and his cousin
arrived back in Omaha around 1 p.m.
But the surprises just kept coming. A
kissed my friend on the cheek. They honAlthough the trip was short, it was someconcert manager came in and told the girls estly looked exactly like Zayn,” Allen said.
thing the girls would remember forever.
the opening act was coming on. When
After a quick stage break, it was One
From New York adventures to seeing their
they asked who the opening act was, the
Direction time. The British boy-band sang favorite band in concert, “It was one of the
manager replied, “Ed Sheeran.” Sheeran is
their whole first album, Up All Night, two
best trips of my life. I’ll never forget it,”
a British Indie-pop solo artist who wrote
covers, and five songs off their new album,
Allen said.
one of One Direction’s songs. The group
Take Me Home.