I missed three concerts this school year. Here's why.

I missed three concerts this school year, and the reasons were not really about school.

The first one was Osamason in Detroit. I bought the ticket before I knew I was going to Houston for AfroTech. AfroTech ran from October 27 to October 31, 2025, and it is one of the biggest spaces for Black tech professionals, students, founders, and companies to meet. I wanted to be there because it connected to my future, but it still meant I was in a different state when the concert happened.

I ended up giving my Osamason ticket to a friend for free. That felt better than wasting it, but it still bothered me because I had already pictured myself going.

The next two concerts were Nettspend and Che. We planned those about two months early. Nettspend was on Friday and Che was on Sunday, so the plan was to make a whole weekend out of it. We had four people in the group, and everyone sounded excited at first.

Then one person backed out of Nettspend a few weeks before the show. After that, the energy changed and everyone backed out too. It was annoying, but at least it happened early enough to accept.

The Che concert hurt more. On Saturday, the day before the show, we still had serious plans. We talked about where to meet, how we would hang out, and how the night would go. Then one person backed out, and somehow all of us backed out.

That one was the worst because it happened the day before. I had not been to a concert all year, and I wanted one fun night before finals. Instead, the plan disappeared right when it felt real.

Later, I watched Rolling Loud Orlando 2026 live in May. Rolling Loud is one of the biggest rap festivals in the world, and seeing everyone there having fun made me think about the concerts I missed. Then my roommate texted me saying we should have gone because our favorite rappers were there. That made the feeling worse.

The lesson is that plans need someone to own them. If everyone waits for the group to stay excited, the plan can fall apart fast. Next time, if I care enough, I need to decide what I am doing first and let people join me instead of letting the whole plan depend on everyone.