I have been born and raised in Connecticut, and am thankful to live next to two of the biggest casino's in the world. However, one of the downsides is that they are the main form of employment, so like it or not, I would almost be guaranteed to get a job there. I have worked at both, and have worked multiple positions at Foxwoods, but lucky enough for me I got hired as an arena usher at Mohegan Sun in the Spring of 2011.

One of the perks of being an arena usher is that you get to see all the shows for free, but what is even better is if there is an artist you really enjoy you can request which section of the arena you would like to work. As soon as I heard Josh was coming, I e-mailed my supervisor requesting to work the floor in hopes of being able to be close to him.

I have been listening to Josh since 2004, when "Remember When it Rained" and "You Raise Me Up" were his most popular songs being played on our local soft rock station. My aunt loved his voice, and with her passing, "You Raise Me Up" held a very special place in the hearts of my grandmother and I. I can't even begin to express how his music has helped through some of the dark days of high school and the period of my life where I suffered extreme agoraphobia to the point I had to be medicated in order to leave the house. His voice is like magic, captivating and beautiful. Nothing compares.

The day of the concert I was an anxious mess. I hadn't heard back from my supervisor, so I was extremely excited to get to work and see where I was seating. As long as I wasn't working at the doors scanning tickets, I would get to enjoy the show no matter what. Sure enough I get to work, check the seating chart and see that I am on the floor. At this point I beyond ecstatic. This is going to be my first Josh concert, and I am lucky enough to be able to seat the floor seats. What made the show even better was that I knew he would be going back and forth between two stages, and where the ushers stand during the concert is right next to where his smaller stage was set up.

There was a good crowd of people that night. Some concerts you have late arrivals and people who try to sneak onto the floor, but the seating hour went off without a hitch. While waiting for more patrons, the supervisor who worked the floor that night told me he would be entering the floor via the opposite entrance. Right before show time when the lights dimmed she tried to sneak me and one other over so he could walk right by us, but our head supervisor showed up right as that was going to happen..so oh well. She tried.

One of the best things about concerts is the adrenaline and anticipation you get when the lights dim and you know the performer is going to be just feet away from you. I can't even describe the feeling I had when the lights came down and he came running out, ready to rock the house. The entire night I had a huge grin on my face and tried to keep my cool when my head supervisor was around, because in reality I was having a Justin-Bieber type fan girl melt down, tears included. His voice just has a way of having that effect on people I guess.

I don't remember much honestly, aside from some of the audience questions, the duet with the lucky girl from the audience, and the two girls who got to sit on stage while he serenaded them. It was all a haze, but I know he sounded like perfection and I left that night thankful for being able to have such an experience.

I no longer work at the arena, so this time around if he tours for All that Echoes I will be able to go as a paying guest and fully enjoy it.

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