What Mars means to me.

Hi there my fellow Echelon, I'm Keri from Massachusetts.

Everyone has good and bad days, it is a fact of life. On my bad days music is my escape. I know that I can just turn up the radio and dance and sing and that everything for that moment will be ok. Music talks to people; it is universal language like a math equation. From their first album I knew 30 Seconds to Mars was a great band. I knew that because they made music that spoke to me. Like Pink Floyd, The Beatles, U2, NIN, and Nirvana, they have been added to a lists of bands that, playing a song can bring me back to a moment in my life that makes me smile or cry or just remember. When I saw them at the Boston House of Blues in April it was a spiritual experience. I have been to a lot of concerts but none with the life and tenacity of this band. They interacted with the audience on a level I have never seen before and it comes from the fact that they really do love their fans. The fans are a whole other subject. During the show we all became one and looked out for each other. I am proud to be part of the Echelon; even though I am older then most of the fans I am glad to be a Mars Mother. I laugh at the fact the my 3 yr old son Damien thinks everyone with a Mohawk is a "Rock Star" and even sported a blue Marshawk himself for a while. He has started to play drums too. I love that I can share their music with my son like my father shared his music with me.

So 30 Seconds to Mars means just that; loving music I can share with the people I love.

I believe in nothing, but the truth in who we are...

When I started this blog yesterday, I had absolutely no idea what to write. How do you put this feeling into words? I don't even think I can, but I will try to do you all justice, because 30 Seconds to Mars and the echelon have changed my life so much.

I never for one second thought I would ever meet people like the echelon. I'm an only child; I didn't grow up having very many playmates, and even in middle school I only had a few people I considered real friends. High school followed a similar pattern, which was that people made fun of me for liking the things I liked, looking the way I looked, acting the way I acted....some people pretty much had a problem with me being myself.

I am not ashamed of who I am. I am not afraid to say that I love something, and if given the chance I would shout it from a rooftop. That's always the kind of person I have been, and I wouldn't change myself for anything in the world.

30 Seconds to Mars is one of the things I love.

I love the music. I love the creativity. I love the fact that Jared, Shannon and Tomo have an amazing bond that shines through in interviews, concerts, and in their music. I could go on for pages and pages about what I love about each and every one of them, because that is just how deeply they have impacted my life. I will list one thing about each though.

I love Jared's work-ethic. I love how hard he works, and yet still has time for all of us. Directing, writing, singing, acting, editing, touring, interviewing...and yet he still has time to talk to us on twitter and post pictures, and tell us to follow our dreams. He is a man of many talents, and if he has taught me anything, it is that you are the one who can make your dreams come true. You are the one who has to make it happen, and you can do it!

Shannon...oh what can I say about Shanimal? There is so much. I can honestly say that I love his spirit. He plays drums with such a passion that I can feel it in every song. Also, in almost every interview I have seen him in, he laughs at least once. It's contagious. And hearing him laugh always puts a smile on my face. It's to the point now where every time I think of Shannon, I am reminded to smile and smile often.

And Tomo...he is just so special. It's so inspiring to know that he was a fan before joining 30 Seconds to Mars. That is something that I honestly didn't think was possible just because all odds seem against. That's life, though, and the most important thing that Tomo has taught me is that odds mean nothing when you have talent and the guts to take chances. (Congrats to Tomo and Vicki on their engagement. Hope you live long happy lives together!)

And the one thing the band has collectively done for me is introduced me to the most amazing family I have ever known: The Echelon

With the echelon, I can be myself. I can be crazy and goofy and loud and playful...and know I won't be judged for it like my friends do. I can love 30 Seconds to Mars as much as I want, because I know I am around people who love them just as much. For the past month, I have been talking to hundreds of echelon around the world. I have been making plans, and being crazy, and being myself with no one telling me how I should be acting. Because of the echelon, I have finally began to enjoy being in my early twenties.

So, to all echelon reading this: Thank you.

Thank you @LilLaurenLeto for our crazy "disfunctional marriage"! Thank you @ZuzannaBucko for being the most amazing little sister in the world! Thank you to @claudiaicara for our talks! Thank you to everyone of the amazing echelon I have had the pleasure of speaking to, and to those I haven't met yet! I wish I could name every single of you, but this would be severely long if I did! This is the best family in the world, because we make each other so strong. Thank you all!

Andrea
Maryland (US)
Twitter: EmeraldMoon21

Talk to me anytime! I love you all!

You say you wanted more, what are you waiting for?

While – of course - I’m a huge fan of the music, 30 Seconds to Mars didn’t really change my life until I had the opportunity to see them live. When I found out I would be meeting Jared, Shannon, and Tomo (okay, I paid for a VIP ticket to guarantee I would meet them), I resolved that I wanted to look and feel my best for them. These guys pour their hearts and souls into their art, and they have always been so kind and generous to their fans, it was only fair that I give them my best too.

Through the eight weeks leading up to the NYC concert (and I later added tickets to the Montclair, New Jersey show), I kicked my regimen of diet and exercise into high gear. For 12-15 hours every week, with a 30 Seconds to Mars playlist always blaring in my ears for motivation, I beat the hell out of myself at the gym. I managed to lose 20 of the 30 pounds I needed to get down to my ideal weight range. My blood pressure lowered into a healthy range too - not an easy thing to do with the kind of daily stress I deal with both at work and at home. I have also struggled with depression since I was a kid, and the combination of exercise-induced endorphins and the excitement of meeting the guys helped put that in check too. For the first time in about a decade, I felt good.

It only got better when I got to New York and New Jersey: the awesome experience of seeing 30 Seconds to Mars play live, the incredible opportunity to meet them in person (a few times – each time more wonderful and memorable than the last), and maybe the best part of all, being introduced to the community (the cult!) of the Echelon. I formed an instant bond with the people I met in New York and New Jersey; these people shared a mutual respect and admiration for 30 Seconds to Mars and their music, and I found myself suddenly rooted in a kind of family. I’m now connected to people all over the country – all over the world, actually – because of 30 Seconds to Mars. For that, I am eternally grateful. In a few weeks, I’ll be attending another concert, and while of course I can’t wait to see the guys again, or hear them play, I’m amazed at how excited I am (especially considering how unbelievably shy I am!) to reunite with other members of the Echelon.

To top it off, my concert-going experience triggered a kind of “enlightenment” for me. I have never been so sure of what I want in life, so determined to live my dreams. I have set aside fear and self-consciousness; I have fully embraced the spirit of provehito in altum (the phrase had the honor of being my first 30 Seconds to Mars tattoo – it won’t be the last, either) and carpe diem/carpe noctem. And while the entire This is War album could be said to represent how I feel, my anthem right now is more likely “The Kill”, because “this is who I really am” and I have never been happier or more proud to fight for it and to make the changes in my life that will allow me to be whom I want to be. Thank you, 30 Seconds to Mars. We love you too. :)