I woke up yesterday with a simple agenda.

It’s Monday, I thought.

Today is my first official day off as an almost-graduated college baccalaureate. No art class today, so let’s have some fun.

The plan was to grab lunch with Devin and head over to Jimmy Kimmel Live to see what 30 Seconds To Mars was all about. But about halfway through our sushi and bento special in downtown Little Tokyo, the plot quickly thickened. Linkin Park was at it again…

Rumor was that the band was out in Hollywood promoting their upcoming show for the Sunset Strip Music Festival on August 3^rd. And after sifting through multiple texts, Instagram photos, and chaos on The Twitter, we figured out that Sunset Blvd was the place to be.

We drove down Sunset Blvd not exactly sure of who, or what we were looking for. But we eventually recognized a small group of familiar, unmistakable faces loitering around a Coffee Bean parking lot with posters and flyers in hand…

Mike, Brad, Phoenix, Adam, and videographer Mark Fiore were on the move. Devin and I parked and caught up with them, eager to help with their mission of spreading the word about SSMF. After a brief introduction, Brad and Phoenix were kind enough to give us both a handful of custom-made handouts. There were four different designs, each one uniquely sketched and printed by Mike Shinoda himself.

We were soon joined by friends Brandon, Natasha, and Katelyn, who were also excited to join the mission. So we all set to work, marching down the street like true Linkin Park soldiers, offering these special flyers to the good people of Los Angeles who were lucky enough to pass by. We reached the parking lot and decided to leave several flyers on a few windshields as well before Katelyn, Devin and I headed over to Hollywood and Highland to catch the quick show from 30STM on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Of course, the fun didn’t stop there…  After the live 30STM show, we took to the street once again and continued our promotion, passing out the rest of our flyers on the busy Hollywood Blvd. Meanwhile, Natasha and Brandon teamed up with Susy, Johanna, and Leo at UCLA to finish off a day of good work!

(WE ARE THE STREET TEAM: Brandon @brandon_288, Devin, Dayna @pandayna, Susy @susyxthemsnger, Leo @TheRottenKing, Natasha @NLopezdeArenosa, Johanna @livingthing90)

Things like this make it so much fun to be a part of the cause. And after all these years of being a fan of the band, I finally got to take a decent picture with three of them! I’m now a part of the picture club. I feel validated in a way. Silly but true…

I woke up this morning thinking about how important it is to build real relationships with friends and family and the people we care about. The tragic aftermath of the events in Oklahoma these past few days reopened my eyes a little bit to the significance of life’s personal associations, and how quickly things can change. Meanwhile we try to do what we can to make the most of it all.

It was a great thing to see the band going ‘back to basics’ in a sense, by forming tangible relationships and connecting directly with the people and the fans. Putting a little bit of time, effort, and dedication into marketing and promoting the show definitely goes a long way. Not to mention it was a lot of fun!

Big thanks to Mike, Brad, Phoenix, Adam, and Fiore for being so generous, polite, and patient with all of us. Much love and respect on behalf of Team Free Will. We appreciate it more than you know.

-          Dayna

Photos: Johanna @livingthing90

We decorated my car. sticker not included.

Making your day a little bit better, 1 flyer at a time…

Photo: Katelyn @Katelyn26 was the first one to meet the guys!

Photo: Katelyn @Katelyn26 even gave 30SMT the flyers at the meet & greet!