• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
College Magazine logo

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
    • Find Your College
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
Home » Latest Posts » Last Spring Break, I Saw My Idol
Spring Break

Last Spring Break, I Saw My Idol

FacebookTweet
Jasper Wittig April 3, 2023

A single voice rose out above the rest. The crowd grew quiet in anxious anticipation. “I run barefoot, shoes at the door”; the words rang clearly in the quiet room. I felt the crowd shift on their feet, and the curtains revealed the person everyone was waiting for. The neon lights in the back lit up, each letter in lowercase: d o d i e. I went to my first-ever concert last spring break. I watched awe-struck as Dodie performed her Build a Problem Tour from The Plaza Live in Orlando, just 20 minutes from my hometown. She lit up the stage with her engaging presence and child-like energy. Her body moved in leaps as she danced by the band members and laughed with the crowd.

The words she sang took me back in time.

Courtesy of Jasper Wittig

Six years earlier, I sat at my computer, eyes wide and mouth agape. Dodie’s YouTube videos played on auto, and I was enamored by the way her songs flowed both individually and as a whole. I felt connected to her through her words, and for the first time, I understood the power of music. In the years that followed, I watched and rewatched her videos, playing her music on repeat.

During my senior year of high school, my brother and I got our wisdom teeth out. Fresh out of surgery and still on anesthesia, I caught my mom’s eye. “Put on Dodie,” I hissed. She looked at me in confusion. “Dodie,” I said again sternly. My mom explained that she could not until we left the office; I choked back tears. I insisted she give me back my phone so I could tell Dodie about her apprehension. Now, at this point, I had never even seen Dodie in person, and we were definitely not friends who spoke on a regular basis. So, even if I had my phone, my ambitions were a little high.

After leaving high school, my days of binging her channel were behind me. Sorta.

Courtesy of Jasper Wittig

While I no longer sat in front of my screen, rewatching her posts from years prior, I did keep up with her updates and got a signed copy of her Build a Problem vinyl record. As the years passed, I fell behind on her content, and my life became less tied to hers. But two years later, I stood just a few feet away from her.


trending

107

How Graduation is Causing Me a (Good) Existential Crisis

Gretchen Rubin, author of Life in Five Sense
96

Awaken Your Five Senses with #1 NYTs Bestselling Author Gretchen Rubin

77

Adulting with Your Mom Is Fun


When my partner got us tickets to her 2022 tour for Christmas, my heart melted. It had been six years of pointed jokes and subtle jabs at my obsession with Dodie. Now, we would be watching her live on stage together. The show brought me to tears. The shift in tone as she moved through her setlist reminded me of the times her music got me through. She played and sang what she deemed a “sad song mashup” of songs through the years, starting with one of her very first songs. “Would you be so kind”; a song about unrequited love. It was a song I sang along to in my early teenage years, a song that reflected my life events at the time. I stood there with my partner, knowing life works out and smiling through my nostalgic tears.

As the concert neared its end, Dodie acknowledged the elephant in the room— the elephant of pride flags and rainbow garb.

unsplash.com

The effect Dodie had on every single one of our queer journeys was almost palpable. She segwayed into “Rainbow,” a song about social expectations and going against the grain to be authentic. Then, “She,” a song about loving a woman. These were two songs that were milestones in my own queer journey, and it meant the world to hear them live.

The Dodie tour tied loose ends in my life. It bridged the past to the present, and it healed the part of me that still asked, “Is it dodie yellow, though?” I’m so grateful for the path my life took, and Dodie played a huge role in my progress to accept and find myself. Last spring break, my world shifted when I saw Dodie on tour. This spring break, I go headfirst into another year. I know I can take on anything that comes my way.

About Jasper Wittig

Jasper Wittig is a senior at UF majoring in journalism with a minor in gender studies. When he’s not writing stories, he loves spending time with his cat and dumpy tree frogs.

10 Songs for the Backtrack of Your Spring Break Adventures

Take a Safe Spring Break Road Trip to One of These 10 National Parks

Community Service

Six Strangers Go to Mobile, Alabama on Spring Break

quench-your-vacation-thirst

20 Spring Break Quotes to Quench Your Vacation Thirst

Things to do in NYC

12 Things to Do in Chilly NYC for Spring Break

Spring break movies

12 Spring Break Movies to Watch Since COVID-19 Canceled Your Plans

mission trip

Not Your Typical Spring Break

packing for spring break

Spring Break Is Bleaker Than the Winter You Just Survived

florida spring break

10 Hot Destinations for Every Kind of Florida Spring Break

Previous Post:Top 10 Best Ways to Budget at NYU
Next Post:10 Fun and Very Cheap Things to do This Spring Break

colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

College Magazine logo

Copyright © 2023 Powered by BizBudding