Going into the weekend, I honestly had no idea what to expect. I knew Oprah was touring different cities with her "trailblazers", advertising the glorious life you want, but I was lacking the details of the overall concept. But in the end, I think I almost enjoyed it more that way. Everything about the event was a total surprise to me, and an overall (good) shock to my emotions. I laughed, I cried, and I even danced my heart out.
The event took place over the span of a Friday-Saturday. Friday only being a few short hours in the evening, and Saturday being an all day affair starting early in the am.
When I arrived at the event on Friday, I made sure to allot some time to check-in, and to check out O-Town.
O-Town is basically a setup of all of the sponsors of the tour. But done so in such a magical and ingenious way. They had tents to sit and chill in, photo-ops, and a ton of freebies. Woman (and brave men) could take a spot in line to have scalp massages by Pantene, make-up touches from artists by Covergirl, and get free samples of products from Olay and so much more. You could even have your picture taken and photoshopped to be on the cover of a magazine with Oprah. The cool thing about the tour is your registered wristband holds information like your email. So when you went around O-Town and had your picture taken by staff members, they could touch their camera phone to your band, and it would email you the photos. Seriously incredible.
So the overall theme of the tour is literally the life you want. Everything about it was designed to be motivating and encouraging, and let me tell you, it was just that.
That evening everyone settled in for an intimate time with Oprah. She came out on stage, and completely took my breath away. I couldn't help but wonder if I was dreaming or not. Someone pinch me.
Isn't this just absolutely incredible?!
The other cool thing about the wristbands, is that they lit up throughout different times of the event, adding to the overall moods of each activity happening (that's what the little speckled lights are in the above photo)
Oprah's starting out topic for the evening was that of sunrise faith. She began by saying "no matter how dark it gets, the sun will always rise." And from there the evening unfolded beautifully. Oprah opened up her heart and shared her story. She was honest, encouraging, and nothing less of absolutely genuine and pure. She spoke of her life, her upbringing, and her goals and dreams. But also how to take our dreams and put them into light.
The first night ended and I was in complete awe. Though the next morning was an early one, I was more than ready for another dose of inspiration.
And inspiration was exactly what I got.
The next day included not only Oprah, but also her team of trailblazers. The trailblazers consisted of Rob Bell, Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray Love, swoon), Deepak Choprah, and Iyanla Vanzant. Each of them spent an amount of time on stage individually, giving their story, and contributing their life tools to help the audience achieve the life they want.
Deepak did a meditation with us, Elizabeth talked about her life a bit (the behind the scenes of her incredible book), and Iyanla had me cracking up the entirety she was on stage. Each of them had different qualities, and each of their stories and words of encouragement was the perfect addition to this tour.
The time that Oprah spent with us on Saturday, was working on activities given to us in a booklet created for the tour. There were three different ones, all spread throughout the day and between the trailblazers speaking. And each and every one was special and emotional (I cried a lot the entire weekend) While doing these activities, writing down our hopes and dreams, evaluating our current lives and creating goals on how to turn our negatives into positive, Oprah walked throughout the audience. Absolute silence was bestowed upon the arena as she walked around, reading our words over our shoulders. And though thousands of people were in attendance, I felt a personal connection with this event, to my heart, and to my Savior.
Everything about this tour was brilliantly executed. Everything from the app designed for your phone, the music played to get everyone off their feet and grooving, and the life changing words, shared by the most talented group of people. I knew I would leave this weekend with great words and advice, but I didn't know I would leave with a full heart, and on such a spiritual high. God is so good, and has clearly put his work into the hearts of each and every member who made this event possible.
This weekend was full of so much more than I could possibly ever express. (if the opportunity of this tour ever arrises again, you won't regret your decision to attend) It was such an opportunity that I wouldn't trade for the world, a spiritual awakening, and it couldn't have come at a better time. God has perfect timing.
-AMB
"God can dream a bigger dream for you, than you can ever dream for yourself."
A big thank you to John for allowing me this experience. You have a heart of pure gold.
