When we at CelebMix bought our tickets for The Triple Ho Show and Jingle Ball we joined the ranks of many One Direction fans who would be saying a temporary goodbye to Louis, Harry, Liam, and Niall as they took the stage for their last concert performances before their hiatus begins in January of 2016.

When you have beautiful things in your life its not uncommon to want to be enveloped in them and this is the way One Direction fans feel about Niall, Liam, Louis, and Harry.  It’s not just about the radio hits you hear on your drive to and from work.  It’s more important than the album you can listen through without skipping a song.  It’s not just the way the precious accents of the boys are only matched by their incredibly handsome smiles and upstaged by their huge loving hearts.  It’s the way that somehow – the mix of all of that – has created a safe and loving sense of belonging for fans of One Direction.

Harry, Louis, Niall, and Liam became safety.  Louis, Harry, Liam, and Niall represented love.  Niall, Liam, Harry, and Louis turned into friends.  Liam, Louis, Harry, and Niall gave fans a place to call home. 

Once OTRA ended on October 31st fans didn’t know how to sit with the news that they wouldn’t have any concerts after the release of Made In The A.M on November 13th.  In a beautiful turn of events, however, One Direction signed on to be part of a few holiday concerts before they said ‘goodbye for now’.  This opportunity gave fans a little bit of extra time to savor the boys on stage while giving Liam, Niall, Louis, and Harry some extra time to enjoy their dream lives before the last set of stage lights dimmed around them.

When tickets went on sale we purchased ours quickly; knowing this would be the last time we saw One Direction as they are now.  While every single fan of the boys know and understand why this break is necessary – the absence of the boys is already being felt hard as they have all boarded their respective planes to fly back to the UK, this time – without a concrete plan to return anytime soon.

For the first time in five years; we aren’t guaranteed a future with Harry, Louis, Liam, and Niall – and that is a hard truth to face.  One Direction has been, for many of us, more than music and knowing that the boys who bring us happiness, give us strength, and teach us about love and acceptance won’t be an active part of our lives for the foreseeable future hurts, but it is healing in the same breath to know that the time they’re taking off is to replenish their own hearts, minds, and spirits.

For every time a fan has drawn strength from Harry; he’s drawn strength from a fan.

For every time a fan has looked to Louis for comfort; he’s found comfort in a fan.

For every time a fan has felt proud of who they are because of Niall; he’s felt proud of who he is because of a fan.

For every time a fan has been brave because of Liam; Liam has been made braver because of a fan.

We credit the boys for saving us, for being the reason we’ve found hope in hopelessness, light in darkness, and love in times of loneliness but Niall, Liam, Louis, and Harry credit us for the same and then some.

If you’re a long time fan of One Direction; you’ve surely seen the unavoidable changes in the lads and since we’ve watched them grow up right in front of us, some of these changes were inevitable.  We all mature and shift a bit as we enter young adulthood…this is part of life.  What isn’t part of “normal” life is the way that these boys were fit into predetermined molds of who people thought they should be to sell albums.  What isn’t part of “normal” life is the way they went through media training and were forced to hide parts of themselves they loved and create new parts of their personality to satisfy the masses.

The truth is, if the boys had been left alone from the beginning, allowed to grow and become young men on their own, the masses would be a hell of a lot more satisfied than they are now.

The truth is though; the last five years happened and even though there were lows and times of stress – for the boys and fans alike – it was a time of magnificence and brilliance and happiness that words don’t do justice when trying to describe it.

So on December 4th, when the boys prepared to take the concert stage for the last time, the crowd was a mess of emotions.  There was a high anticipation for what the lads would sing, what they’d be wearing, and how they’d hold it together for their last type of performance like this.

As usual – Louis, Harry, Niall, and Liam delivered!  They graced the stage full of energy and passion, they sang their hearts out to crowd favorite songs, they thanked the fans for joining them.  Fans got to hear a few key songs off of Made In The A.M which the boys sang beautifully, especially Love You Goodbye and the infamous high note Louis hits on the track.  The best part of their set, for us at least, was the expression on Louis’ face after he completely nailed the note live at Jingle Ball.  He had a look of complete passion and confidence, something he lacked for far too long, and seeing that expression of joy and knowing how well deserved it was made the fact that this was the last time we’d see it performed live set a little easier in our hearts.  Way to go, Louis.

One Direction then ended the concert with a fitting tribute to the last five years that allowed the fans to reflect upon it’s message and let the boys sign their love song to us with x’s and o’s.

History, which was a tear filled end to an incredible five years together, left fans close to tears as the boys belted out lyrics about what’s really important, how us next to them make the greatest team, and more important than anything else – how this is not the end.

Many One Direction fans left Jingle Ball at the end of their set; some saying it didn’t feel right to continue watching the acts after seeing the boys be sent out on such a high note.  The fans that stayed said the rest of the concert was lovely, but few felt that anything topped One Direction’s performance…maybe it was because when you’re a fan of Harry, Louis, Liam, and Niall you put them above everything, maybe it was because it was the last time we’d know that they’d be something tangible, or maybe it was because they truly put it all out there and went able and beyond for their final performance – we think it was a little bit of all of that mixed together.

So when Harry, Niall, Liam, and Louis got together in the middle of the stage to give us a final bow and the lights around them faded to black, our hearts all froze for a moment, and we’re sure theirs did too.

The end of something as incredible as One Direction’s first five years is going to hit all of us really hard; so we’re blessed that they ended this as gracefully and beautifully as they did.

Thank you; Louis, Harry, Niall, and Liam for everything you’ve given us and everything you let us take from you when we didn’t realize we were doing it.  Thank you for your selflessness, for your compassion, for your talent, and for the melodies that have embedded themselves into our minds.  You’ve given fans so much without asking for anything in return and without once putting yourselves first.

You deserve to go see the world on your own terms, to not leave your bed all day if you wish, and to fill the desires of your heart that you’ve had to put on hold to live this life.

“Put us in your heart, go see everything, and then come back to us.”

We’ll see you soon, then.

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