Miles to Go (19 page)

The Happiest Place on Earth

A
s I’ve said, a big part of my faith is helping others, not out of guilt or gratitude for what I have but because it feels right and necessary. It’s true that my sweet sixteen was a huge, over-the-top affair. We shut down Disneyland on a schoolnight; five thousand people attended the party, and each one paid $250 for the privilege. Hey, girls who bullied me in sixth grade, check this out: thousands of people paid cash dollars to come to my birthday party! But it was nothing like those sweet sixteen extravaganzas you see on MTV.

Before you think I’m a selfish nutjob for charging people to come to my party—here’s the reason: the event raised one million dollars for Youth Service America.
All
that money went to a good cause. Like I’ve said, if I’m gonna be in the spotlight, I want to use my powers for good.

The evening of the birthday party was pretty choreographed—I knew what was supposed to happen and when it was supposed to happen. But the biggest moment was something that none of us planned or expected. My good friend Lesley, whom I cheered with for all those years, flew in from Tennessee to come to the party. She was staying with me at my house, and right before we headed to Disneyland I said to her, “I’m so happy. The only thing that would make me happier would be for Pappy to be here for the party.” Lesley told me not to be sad. She said, “He’s here. He’s watching.”

Near the beginning of the celebration, at a little reception for the celebrities who were attending, my mom was supposed to give me my birthday present. But as it happened, the party was running late. By the time my mom gave me my present, the celebrities were already in cars for the parade. So the only people left were my mom, Rich Ross and Adam Sanderson (heads of Disney Channel), and Aunt Edi, my mom’s best friend. It was just a small group of people who felt like family.

Then my mom surprised me with a Maltipoo, a tiny all-white puppy who is part Maltese, part poodle. A puppy! I was so excited. Okay, it wasn’t a total surprise. My mom knew I was dying for a puppy, and I had a feeling that wish might come true.

So we were playing with the puppy and taking pictures, and then my mom said, “Sofie, look at the camera Sofie.” I froze in disbelief. Time stood still for a second. Then I blurted out, “Sofie—that’s Pappy’s dog!” My mom hadn’t realized—Sofie the puppy had come from the breeder with her name— but Sofie the dog had been Pappy’s dearest friend, his trusty companion. She was everything to him. I had no doubt in my mind that this fluffy little puppy wriggling in my arms was my birthday present from Pappy. God had sent me a gift from my pappy. When I had that realization, I started crying. I sat there in front of everyone, just weeping, with Sofie in my lap reaching up to lick my tears away.

I’m glad all the celebrities were already shuttling off to the parade. It was such a sweet, special, overwhelming moment that I’m happy I was surrounded by people who know me well. Plus Pluto. Pluto the dog was there too. (Another moment of deep respect for those who can wear heavy costumes with small air holes.) I guess that guy in the Pluto suit is kinda part of the family now. He (or she?) probably thinks I’m a pretty emotional girl. But the truth is, in all the other big moments in my life so far, I usually haven’t cried or gotten superemotional. On that night, though, I kept saying, “Oh my gosh,” and my eyes would well up again. I just could not stop crying. I will remember that moment for the rest of my life.

Right after that was the parade. We started driving down the street, through crowds of kids lining the streets of Disneyland. As if I didn’t have reason enough to be emotional, our car rolled slowly down the street past people yelling my name, screaming Happy Birthday. I didn’t know how to react. I felt kind of embarrassed and stupid, and at the same time I felt like a princess. I was wearing a gorgeous champagne gown beaded with crystal, and pretty aqua blue pumps covered in Swarovski crystal beads. They were real Cinderella shoes. But still . . . I sank down in my seat. My mom nudged me and said, “Honey, wave like a beauty queen.” I said, “But I feel dumb! It’s so weird that all these people are here to see me.”

Embarrassment wasn’t the only emotion I was feeling. Yes, I’ve done concerts in front of thousands of people, but this felt different. It felt so personal, so intimate. I really couldn’t believe so many families were there to support me and celebrate with me. There were reporters in the car with me, trying to interview me, and I could barely answer. I’d start talking, then get choked up, then start laughing at myself. I was laughing and crying the whole ride.

Then we got to the purple carpet. That’s right, purple! I love purple. Remember when I walked down my first red carpet, at the premiere for
Chicken Little
, and nobody had any idea who I was? Now the carpet was custom-colored for me! Wow.

Sometimes this life I’m leading starts to feel normal. Walking down red carpets starts to feel like an everyday thing. Even if you love it—which I do—the excitement gets consumed by the fact that it’s work. But that night, the unbelievable reality of my life rushed at me. I felt so blessed.

Even though I’ve walked on red carpets before, this time was different, and not just because of the color of the carpet. Everyone there was a friend of mine: Emily, Mitchell, and Moises Arias (who plays Rico). Anna Maria Perez de Tagle and Shanica Knowles (who play Ashley and Amber) both told me they were wearing purple dresses for me. Demi Lovato was there—there were so many Disney people it felt like a family reunion. I did interviews and talked to friends and fans in between. That part was really relaxed and fun.

Then it was time for me to perform. Which meant a new outfit, of course. My wardrobe designer, Dahlia, surprised me with a vest that said “Sweet Sixteen” on the back. Cool! I know it might seem strange that I performed at my own party, but I figured people paid $250 a ticket! I wanted to give back to them.

The show started on Tom Sawyer Island. Dad opened for me. He played “Ready, Set, Don’t Go” and there was a montage of photos and videos of my life up till now. It was so sweet. It doesn’t matter how many times I hear my dad sing that song. I know why he wrote it and I know that it’s real for us every time.

After Dad, I sang, and then—this was the best part of all—Disney presented the million-dollar check to Youth Service America (YSA), and we honored ten of YSA’s “Service Stars,” just a few of the amazing kids who don’t let being young stop them from working hard to make this world a better place. I was so into it—I was jumping up and down like a little girl.

Next my dancers and I got on a boat.
(Gosh, it all happened so fast that I was like,
Oh, right, the boat!
)
I sang two more songs as they took us out onto the river. The boats went right up into the crowd. It was a really cool way to perform, floating right up to the crowd and seeing the sparkling lights of Disneyland all around us.

I had a break after the concert to cool down and clean up. I changed into a beautiful baby blue dress with sequins and baby blue feathers around the bottom. Finally, it was time for the big birthday moment. I’ve had birthday parties before. I’ve blown out candles and had people sing “Happy Birthday” to me. But I never imagined I’d be standing in front of Cinderella’s castle, gazing at a gigantic cake that won a “Design a Cake for Miley’s Birthday” contest, surrounded by sixteen foot-tall candles, while thousands of people sang for me. I “blew out” the candles (they were electric—it must have been someone’s job to make sure they turned off at the exact right moment), and the instant the candles went out, the fireworks started. Fireworks!

How did I feel at that moment? I can’t really say. It was too big to absorb, and I still haven’t really taken it in. I just know that it was a night I never could have imagined. An amazing, unforgettable night. But it also had a bigger purpose. It raised money for a great cause, and that’s what makes it much more meaningful than the celebration of one sixteen-year-old’s birthday.

After the party was over and all the friends left our suite, it was midnight. The park was empty and closed, and I was allowed to ride the rides. Can you imagine? Disneyland, all to myself. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. But I was sooooo tired. We rode two rides, and then I turned to Mom and said, “Let’s just go home.” And so we did.

A New Kind of Tour

L
ike I’ve said,
(Sorry! I get a little bit off topic sometimes!)
life has been a roller-coaster ride from the moment I got on
Hannah Montana
. When the whole book was happening, I was in the middle of filming the Hannah Montana movie, working on songs for the soundtrack, and doing all the other stuff that makes up my day. I was SWAMPED!
(Don’t get me wrong—busy is good! I love being busy. Even when I have downtime, I fill it up. The other night I was up till 4 in the morning... cleaning my room! Just because I couldn’t NOT be busy!)

But I was—and am—so proud of the book that I was eager to get on the road to talk about it when it was finished. There were so many stories I wanted to share in these pages! Now, I’ve been on my music tours, and I’ve done promotion for my CDs and for
Hannah Montana
, but a book tour was different. I was going to be meeting people who had gotten a glimpse into some pretty personal parts of my life. I was going to hear what they had to say—good and bad. And this was the scary part—I was going to have to talk about all of this stuff out loud, on TV and on the radio.

My mom knew I was a little stressed. So, like she always does, she made me feel better. She told me to remember that I share things all the time with my fans through my songs.

It’s funny: even though I’m goofy and like to do silly things like make videos and post random thoughts on Twitter
(used to!)
—I’m actually pretty private... especially about writing. When I first come up with an idea for a song, I like to be alone. Writing songs has always come so naturally to me. The idea gets in my head and flickers around. A chord pops up that goes with it. A few beats bounce together and then—a song. But it always starts when I’m by myself. When I’m sitting on a porch or up in my room or even out on the tour bus.

Writing a book was almost the same process.
(Minus the beats and chords!)
I was at no loss for things to talk about. Like I’ve said, I like to talk. But from the start, I was forced out of my safe and private space. I couldn’t do it all on my own. I had to ask my family questions, dig into our history. There was fun stuff—hearing my dad talk about what I was like when I was a kid. And there was sad stuff—like remembering my last conversation with Pappy. But while it wasn’t all rainbows, I had to keep reminding myself—a chapter is almost like a song. Once I could think of the book that way, it was easier to tie things together.
(I’m not saying I did it perfectly! But I tried!)
I’d get an idea, like I do when writing songs, for a chapter, and let it bounce. Eventually, I’d make it something bigger. But I liked starting small. Sort of the story of my life!

Back to the tour. At the same time that the book was coming out, we were debuting the first single off of the
Hannah Montana
sound track. I may have mentioned it before—“The Climb.”
(Sound familiar?)
Now, as you all know because I’ve talked about it a lot, that song means a LOT to me. So to be out talking about that AND the book was a pretty awesome experience.

Even though I had been pretty nervous about talking about the book, it was fun to hear people responding to it.
Each person took away something different, which is exactly what I like about writing. Whether it is a love song, or a sad poem, or a book about your life so far, everyone sees it a little differently.
Through one person’s eyes, the bullies in my life might not have meant anything, but the move from Tennessee to California might have been devastating. It is, like the saying goes, all in the eye of the beholder.