The Beautiful Aftermath of a Mistake

I will never forget what happened when I went to a Turkish Rock concert a month ago.

I was very excited to go and get more exposure to the language and culture, while enjoying my very first rock concert. I could feel the anticipation building in me while waiting for that day. I prepared ahead by finding out exactly where in Redwood City, California the concert was going to be (the downtown area) and where I could park (two different parking lot options).

The day of the concert I left with enough time to arrive five minutes before the doors opened. I had a foolproof plan, or so I thought. I would soon be reminded that one thing is what you plan, and another is what life plans for you.

Many things went wrong the day of the concert. First, I could not find a parking spot. I took a deep breath and calmed myself down by remembering I still had plenty of time. Then, when I tried to drive to a second parking lot, my navigation app had issues. After a few minutes of driving around I decided to go back to the first parking lot to see if I had any luck. There was one spot available. I felt relieved and quickly walked to find the venue.

I saw a big sign a block away that spelled FOX. “Oh! That’s the venue!” I thought, happy to have found it. I arrived five minutes before they opened the doors, so things were OK. So far so good.

As I approached the entrance, I realized there were a lot more people than I expected. I noticed that everyone was dressed up. They looked like celebrities! I was underdressed. I thought wearing jeans, a nice top, and boots was appropriate, but apparently it was not. I wondered if this was a cultural difference I was not aware of. I enjoyed the situation and saw it as another learning experience.

I finally made it to the end of the line. Yes, there was a line of at least 50 people in front of me. I was really surprised, and excited, to see so many people there. I could already imagine how many opportunities to practice Turkish I would have.

There was a group of friends chatting behind me. I tried to hear what they were saying, to practice my listening comprehension, but quickly realized that they were speaking in Arabic. “I guess that’s just my luck. I have to stand in line for a long time listening to Arabic” I thought, tired after my previous navigation mishaps and derailed plan. There was nothing wrong with listening to Arabic, except that I was trying to maximize my exposure to Turkish.

I then decided to make the most out of the situation by looking at how people were interacting and how exciting it was to be the outsider in a big group. I felt like an anthropologist immersed in a different culture and loved it.

Eventually, after about 25 minutes in line, it was my turn. The man at the entrance scanned my ticket a couple of times, but something was wrong. “This is not the right ticket,” he said. I pointed to the event description and said: “Look, it even describes the event. How can this be the wrong ticket?” I was sure he was making a mistake, or his scanning equipment was malfunctioning.

He took a closer look. “Oh, this line is not for your concert. It’s for an Arabic concert.” I asked him: “Then what’s the line for the Turkish concert?” He said: “Not here. Look, your ticket says Club Fox.” I asked: “Isn’t this Club Fox?” He said: “No. This is the Fox theater.” I thanked him and walked away disappointed that I had made a mistake.

I started wondering how far Club Fox was from there, while I kept walking. Just as I was about to look up the exact building number on my ticket, I looked up and saw it right there. It turned out that Club Fox was only a couple of doors down from the Fox theater.

I made it there 25 minutes after the doors opened, but it was fine. I was still able to find a good spot. The concert was great and the audience loved the music as much as I did. It was a wonderful experience and I was happy I went.

The next morning, I was curious to find out whose concert I had been waiting for by mistake. I searched online and found out that the dressed up and glamorous audience I saw was waiting for Nassif Zeytoun’s concert.

I immediately looked him up on YouTube. Then I came across what has become my favorite song lately: “Mich Aam Tezbat Maii”. I love that song and the music video, even though I do not know Arabic, because Nassif’s smile is so pure and contagious. He truly smiles not only with his mouth, but with his eyes. He projects such joy and you can sense his pure heart.

Every time I watch that video, I feel invigorated and joyful.

I am very grateful I made a mistake that night. I am so happy for all that happened because, were it not for my mistake I would not have discovered Nassif and his music.

This was a great reminder that sometimes life has a different, and better, plan for us. We just need to trust that its plan is always for the best. Sometimes we can see that right away, like it happened to me the morning after the concert. Other times it takes longer. But in the end things work out for the better.