BLACKPINK, Lady Liberty, and Traveling Solo!

🎵 BLACKPINK IN YOUR AREA 🎵

They were in New Jersey, so I flew there to see them perform at the MetLife Stadium for their ‘BORN PINK WORLD TOUR’ ENCORE concert this past weekend. And yes, it was 100% worth it. 

I couldn’t go to their concert when they came to Houston last year, so when they announced more dates for their tour, I was excited and immediately bought my ticket. It’s funny…I’m a K-pop fan, but I wouldn’t consider myself a BLINK (their fandom base name). I like listening to their music, so maybe I am a BLINK, haha. They’ve been touring for almost a year now, and it’s going to be a while before we see them release another album or perform together again after this tour. And so, I felt like it was my only chance to see BLACKPINK. Plus, they’re the biggest K-pop girl group in the world, too!  

Their live performance was awesome - their setlist consisted of their popular songs, a handful of songs from their Born Pink album, as well as the members’ solo songs. It was a great show with pink lightsticks, visuals, dances, and fireworks. I’m currently having post-concert depression as I’m writing this (take me back~). They headlined Coachella this year, so I was even happy to see them do their Coachella performances because I’ve been watching those online. It was my first time going to a concert by myself, too - I had fun! 

It was also my first time traveling by myself. And it was well worth the experience because not only was it interesting, I learned a lot within a few days, too. When I planned my trip itinerary, I didn’t want to fly back immediately after the concert. It was my first time visiting New Jersey and the East Coast, so I wanted to have a full day to explore. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do at first, but eventually, I decided to tour the Statue of Liberty. 

For clarity, I flew into New Jersey and watched BLACKPINK (Day 1) the same day. Then the next day, I was a tourist! I walked at Liberty State Park before heading towards the ferries that would take me to the islands for both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The Liberty State Park was…pretty huge that I was walking for half an hour before I got to the ferries. 

The Statue of Liberty was pretty cool. I bought the ticket to go up the Pedestal. There was a line for the elevators, and I thought, “Nah, I’m going to walk up since I want to do it right.” And oh my goodness - I was wrong. I felt like dying and it was rough walking up the stairs. There are about 190 steps to get to the Pedestal - I was panting and my heart was beating so fast. And it wasn’t just me - the family in front of me was also tired. However, the view from the Pedestal was really nice. I got to see the New York City skyline from above and I was literally right under the Statue of Liberty. 

After the Statue of Liberty, I took the ferry to see Ellis Island, which was the first immigration station in America. I watched a short documentary about the people who immigrated to America who first came to Ellis Island. Each person has their own story as to why they wanted to come to America, but the hardest part for all of them was leaving their families. I learned about the hospital (that is currently closed down) and it was used for people to stay to check whether they have illnesses or diseases before entering America. However, I was more interested in learning more about the history of immigration within the last few decades. My family immigrated from Vietnam, so this side of history felt more personalized to me. There was a panel that showed all 100 questions that were in the citizenship test, and I remembered my mom explaining to me the questions she had for her test. 

During this past weekend, I learned a lot about myself. As a (petite) woman, my survival instinct is always on, so I was anxious to make sure I was safe throughout the entire trip. Would I buy a plane ticket to see a concert across the country? Absolutely, and it’s going to happen when BTS comes back in 2025. But I think I prefer to travel and sightseeing with my family or friends. Having company by your side makes it more fun and you get more ideas and inputs on where you all want to go, whether it’s landmarks or restaurants. And honestly…it’s a lot cheaper to travel with friends, too. My biggest expense was on Uber and Lyft rides. 

Speaking of Uber and Lyft rides, transportation was the most stressful part of this trip. Getting out of the MetLife Stadium at night was so hard. Everyone is also trying to get a ride, so there was a long wait time. I had a handful of (shady) guys who approached me asking if I needed a ride, claiming that they were affiliated with Uber, which I didn’t think so. I also had an Uber ride who canceled on me because I made him wait too long...and that was not fun.

Honestly, I don’t think I am a wanderlust type of person that I would like to be. Traveling is a different type of tiredness and it hits you when you’re constantly walking with a lack of sleep. However, I am glad to have tried it and can say that I did it. I would definitely do it again, differently, if I were to travel by myself next time (or with people). For example, I would pick a place to stay that has a lot of walkable restaurants nearby or pick a hotel that offers free shuttle buses to the airport to save on transportation costs. I would probably research more places to eat, too, haha. And…don’t forget sunscreen. 

I had a lot of fun this past weekend - I saw BLACKPINK and visited the Statue of Liberty for the first time. I tried going to a concert by myself and traveling by myself, so now I can do this again. I’d say that’s a worthwhile experience. And it’s not socially weird to do things by yourself, so I encourage everyone to do it if they want to and are able to. I do want to go to more concerts because I get very inspired and motivated by others’ performances. Hopefully, someday, I get to that level of personal success, too. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post. I will try to recover from my post-concert depression and watch BLACKPINK performances on YouTube for the tenth time. Until then, thanks for reading!