Ten Years…One Dream

Bodenheimer (Far left) is pictured with Keith Urban (center) and the other contest winners.

Bodenheimer (Far left) is pictured with Keith Urban (center) and the other contest winners.

Brooklyn Bodenheimer, a junior, finally got to meet her dream idol of ten years, Keith Urban. On September 13th, Bodenheimer went to First Niagara Pavilion in Pittsburgh for Urban’s concert but also got to go backstage to meet the man himself.

Bodenheimer still remembers the exact moment she started listening to Urban’s music.

“It was 2002 and my older sister was in the front seat of the car. She put on Froggy 94.9,” Bodenheimer said. “The radio host had said ‘Here’s a new song by Keith Urban’. In the beginning it was just guitar strumming and even though I was young, I knew it was going to be a pretty song. As soon as he started singing I fell in love. I didn’t know who he was or what he looked like but all day I was singing it.”

Bodenheimer received this once in a life time opportunity by entering a contest online for people that bought tickets to see the concert. She received the email on August 26th when she got home from school.

“I got emails about contest winners before. I tapped it and it said ‘You’ve won’. ” said Bodenheimer. “My eyes got really wide. I was in so much shock that I couldn’t even cry. After ten years my dream was finally coming true.”

Meeting Keith Urban is more than just meeting her idol. Bodenheimer said that he has in a way “saved her life” before.

“It was 2011 and I was dating somebody who was a jerk. He put me through a lot of crap that summer and he just made me so miserable,” said Bodenheimer. “I was to the point where I wanted to die.”

All she had were her radio and Golden Road CD. Bodenheimer had listened to it a countless number of times but somehow had never heard the last track which is titled “You’re Not My God.”

The song is about Keith Urban overcoming the struggles in his life and realizing that those obstacles are not in control. The chorus really clung to Bodenheimer’s heart simply by the line that said, “You’re not my God; you’re not my friend.”

“The way he said it…it spoke to me in some way,” said Bodenheimer. “Truthfully, it was God who had done it, but he used the song as a tool. God used an artist who I had loved for so long to speak to me and to say, ‘Hey, it’s going to be okay.’”

For the longest time, people told Bodenheimer that she would never meet Keith Urban. It was in her 4th grade year, and people were already telling her to give up on her dreams. Now Bodenheimer had the opportunity to say “I told you so” because she didn’t give up. But she didn’t even have the slightest feeling to rub it in their faces.

“I wanted to keep it to myself because I kind of just gave up on thinking they’d feel proud of me when I accomplished it,” said Bodenheimer. “It’s like a sport. If your parents don’t come to games and you finally did something amazing in your game, why would you tell them if they never cared enough to encourage you in the first place?”

Bodenheimer didn’t give up on herself, even when everyone else did. She kept at her goals and now she finally got to meet the man who she has loved for so long.

“I had thought about the moment for so long that I felt like it was a dream,” said Bodenheimer. “To say I was excited is an understatement.”

Before the concert, Bodenheimer went backstage and gave Urban a fan letter about how much he meant to her.

“I saw him walking behind the curtain to see us, he opened up the curtain and hugged me,” Bodenheimer said. “I gave him my letter and he looked at me and said, ‘This is so sweet, thank you, Baby.’ ”

At nine o’ clock, two hours after the meet and greet, Urban finally came out to perform. Bodenheimer, who was with her step mom, sang her heart out from the front row. When Urban started his second song, he said “Hi Brooklyn,” and sang to her. After the song was over, Urban gave Brooklyn his guitar pick.

“This sounds so cliché and generic,” said Bodenheimer. “But if you keep working at it, your dreams really can come true.”

Bodenheimer's view of Urban as he signed autographs after the show.

Bodenheimer’s view of Urban as he signed autographs after the show.

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