Bon Jovi Influenced My LIfe - College Years

That fall, I started college, a huge step, I was the first member of my family going to school and it was 6 hours away( 250 miles). I was really excited and really nervous. I was testing my wings. I am so thankful to Bon Jovi, because they provided me with a conversation starter. I could always talk about Bon Jovi. I started to make friends with my roommates. Th at was tough though. I am so fond of “Prayer”, “Keep the Faith”, and ”I Believe”, that I managed to pass my nasty Speech class. Which I hated and my boring Biology class at 8:00 AM.

Without “Keep the Faith, Fear, I Believe, Secret Dreams, Stick To Your Guns, and Runaway”, I don’t know that I would have had the guts or confidence to try out for the college Pep band and Symphonic band. The pep band was a paid position for the term, and there were only so many slots. I didn’t get paid for fall term, but I did get

to play with the band and made loads of friends. I did get paid winter term for basketball season. Yahoo! It was “Keep the Faith, and I Believe” that encouraged me to keep up my practice daily and working harder to improve myself and to not be afraid to try new things.

The year is now 1994. I go out on my first “real” date and it’s with my future husband, who happens to play trumpet in the pep band. My sister is graduating from high school. Dad steps into the light once again. Dad swears to my sister that he will be coming out to her graduation. He even says this in May, she graduates in June.

Well the week before her graduation comes, which is two weeks before my finals.

I get a call. Dad says he can’t make it aft er all. So I ask him,” Have you told Michelle yet?” He replied “Not yet.” I ask him point blank,” Are you going to?”

Dad just sort of avoids answering the question. Instead he calls and talks to mom because my sister wasn’t home at the time, and tells her. He didn’t even tell my sister, Mom has to. I was so furious at the man for that. He couldn’t even bother to take the time tell his daughter that he couldn’t come out for her graduation. I learned that dad most certainly would not “be there for me, these fi ve words I swear to you.” What’s funny, is the line I love and I really love this song about friendship, Blood On Blood from New Jersey, Jennifer was my best friend in high school, during our senior year, she got pregnant, and “I got that call in the dead of Night”, I never abandoned her, or failed to be her

friend because of her situation. Like Brothers, we are Blood on Blood. Jennifer later graduated with my sister.

So my sister does n’t even speak to him at all any more because of that stunt. She didn’t get gifts or cards or any acknowledgments from that side of the family because of dad and she resents him like hell because of it.

Michelle and Mom at her High School Graduation:

I’m left holding the bag. I, being the responsible one, trying to beep the family updated. I’m the one who has to be the go between for Michelle and the rest of dad’s side of the family. Mom appeared to approve of my boyfriend. She met him when he took me home for my sister’s graduation from high school. Always the strong one, but hey I’m the oldest and at this point I’m 20.

Cross Road has been released. This was one of the fi rst CD’s I purchased. I love “Always”, but my boyfriend wasn’t a big Jovi fan so we didn’t have that as our song, but I still love it. I love all the imagery and was hoping that I would have that fairy tale, once I got married. “Someday I’ll be Saturday Night, Living on a Prayer, Stick to your Guns,Keep the Faith, and I Believe ”, got me through my first job where I was laid off. I only had a couple of months left before school started again, but still it sucked to spend six weeks working and then be laid off because tourism was down.

November 17, 1994, there was a jazz band concert at the local coff ee shop where I went to school. I went to the concert because my boyfriend played in the band and so did some other friends. I met his parents and that was scary. My boyfriend had a solo, which I thought was strange since he played 4th trumpet. I was happy for him. Little did I know, about the surprise he had in store for me. Th e song was “Sweet Pea”, and during his “solo” he proposed to me. A good friend of ours took over and played the solo. I was so shocked. I will never forget that day for the rest of my life. I went from wanting to kill him to being so incredibly happy that I didn’t know what to do. It’s funny but aft er the show, his parents were sitting on the other side of the room, and they came up to me and asked me, “did he do what I think he did?” I called my dad the next day to tell him the news. All he could say was great, and hung up! Talk about your support. I’m the oldest and he couldn’t be bothered by the news,

that his baby girl was engaged to be married. Th at really hurt me. Remember, Dad and I did not have a close relationship but the feelings were still raw. My grandparents were thrilled to an extent. Grandpa talked to my fiancee on the phone and gave him the lecture like my dad should have done. Mom was concerned, and I had explained to her we were not rushing to get married and that I was not pregnant.

My sister never liked him. Neither did my best friend from high school, but they let me make my own decisions and kept quiet about their thoughts feeling that I would not be open to hearing their opinions.

1995 was a great year. These Days, man I know that feeling. I purchased it in my college bookstore. It was tough. I got a new roommate who hooked up with my fi ancée’s roommate. We also met this guy who would drive a wedge slightly between us. It had become, John the friend, my fiancee, and me for everything we did, every where we went, he tagged along. I had just turned 21. I was the oldest out of a small group of friends. Parties even then were not my scene. I never got drunk. I spent my 21st Birthday at TGIF in Portland ( Tigard) my first drink was a Piña Colada, and my first shot “Breathless” that made me a little tipsy but not drunk, I slurred one word, my entire life. To this day I have never been drunk, I’m the appointed designated driver. I just don’t care to drink. Thinking back this is partly why I was never accepted in high school, drinking just wasn’t my thing even as a teenager.

1996 was an ok year. But overall These Days was how I was feeling. I’d been in school for a 3 years. My college GPA wasn’t where I needed it to be it was at that point I believe a 2.3 and I wanted to get into Elementary Education and I couldn’t even apply because my GPA wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t decide what to major in. I was wavering on a huge decision. I had the roommate from hell. My roommate my junior year, was a twin, and ever been away from home before. She expected me to spend all my time with her, and she did not like any of my friends. I moved in to an apartment with my fiancee, “Living in Sin, Lie to Me,Secret Dreams”, all those songs, man I can so relate. We moved out on our own. We were supporting ourselves,” Born To me Baby, Dry County, In Th ese Arms, Wild In the Streets, Wild is the Wind,Bang A Drum, One Light Burning, Rosie, Church of Desire” helped me adjust to being a completely independent individual an adult. I went to college in a town that was Dry, meaning no alcohol could be sold. I began here, struggling with college. I had just purchased my first car. My fiancee and I were starting to have problems, we were fighting more oft en and he was starting to disappear on these “mountain biking” adventures. I was too busy between my jobs and school to notice we had started growing apart. Th ese Days, Th is Ain’t a love Song, and Damned, all reflections of what was going on in my life. 1997, that was a really hard yea r for me. I failed two classes, placed on academic probation, and placed on academic suspension and changed majors. My grandfather died and things went to hell. Credit card debt I was facing bankruptcy. I was working three jobs and just feeling lousy. Stress and money became an issue between my fiancee and I. I began doubting myself, friends, whether or not I could make it, if I would ever graduate. If I would ever have my “Secret Dreams and become King of the Mountain” that I had dreamed when I was 10. Bon Jovi comes to the rescue. I would lose myself. I would fi nd the strength I needed to believe in myself and believe that things are going change for the better just a matter of time. “Always, Something to Believe, I Believe, Keep the Faith, Wild Is the Wind”, those songs really gave me a lot of comfort in dealing with the loss of one of the most important men in my life. Always and Never Say Good-bye gave me comfort in my soul. I hear that and feel my grandpa looking down, and smiling at me, saying “keep up the good work I am proud of you”. Always makes me smile and feel like grandpa is still with me in my heart.

Grandpa’s Orbit:

I was supposed to gra duate in 1997, but my poor grades, and change of majors set me back. I was really

depressed because I still had three more years to go. I went from being an Elementary Education to being a Computer Science Major. I struggled with the C++ language class, and had to wait to retake it. Th e Java core classes didn’t start until the Fall of 1997. It’s really hard to find the strength to keep going when you have creditors threaten to take your car, threatening to sue me. I was working, making $5.25 an hour at 20-35 hours per week and had way to many credit cards. I was in class for 15 hours a week. I was stupid I know.  I was struggling in school. Stress what’s that? I would lose myself in the Bon Jovi songs and find some deep inner strength and keep fighting. I learned to accept my mistakes, and continued to fight my way through my studies, my depression, and my anger.

1998, my fiancee and I decided to finally get married. I had doubts before we got married, and should have trusted my instincts and saw the warning signs his attention was wondering. We waited partly because we weren’t ready, and partly because his dad kept threatening “if you get married I stop paying for your education.” My fiancée had gotten fed up with school and decided fi ne, if you are going to be that way, then we are just going to go on and get married. We did just that. He then failed out of college. I was doing well in my core programming and Computer Science classes.

Wedding Photo June 17, 1998

My mom graduated from college that June, an d three days later, we were married. Two weeks later, I saw Jon Bon Jovi in Portland promoting Destination Anywhere and it was a free promo put on by the local radio station. I was swept away. Of course I bought the CD from Sam Goodies, in Pioneer Courthouse Square Mall. Th e songs from Destination Anywhere are just so personal, so accurate to where I was in my life. I never realized how much Bon Jovi has been there for me until recently. Th is story may not seem like much, but Bon Jovi has been the one good, solid, and consistent thing in my life. I like to think of the guys as brothers I never had. I did finally graduate from Western Oregon University, located in Monmouth, Oregon. It was one long and hard road. I owe the government way too much but hey I got my degree.
I graduated March 17, 2000 and well I walked for my graduation ceremony June 10,2000, and Crush was released the following Tuesday. I fell in love all over again.

It’s My Life fi ts my life and who I am no w. I’m older, wiser and still a little green but that’s changing as I gain some experience. Just Older is a fabulous song. I have grown up with Bon Jovi, gotten older with them and so I relate so personally with that song. I left my Two Story Town, of Bonanza behind, and haven’t looked back since.

College Graduation Pictures:

Dinner with Mom for Graduation:

It would be Christmas of 2000 when I first met my best friend Rosie. We met through the Offi cial Bon Jovi Fan

Club chat room, Backstage with Jon Bon Jovi.

So begins a friendship inspired by Bon Jovi between Rosie and myself. Friends through thick and thin, good

times, and bad times, friendship that never dies, that will never end.