Waves of people. A sea of colors. Music blasting. Pure bliss.

As I skipped my way through the front gates of my first music festival this past weekend, I was overwhelmed with emotions of both excitement and apprehension. I had been waiting for this moment for weeks. The crowd funneled into an underground path and emerged into the middle of a race course. Event staff sprayed us with water guns and cheered as we soaked up everything around us. Little did I know, I was entering one of the most unique experiences of my life.

There were people from all walks of life swirling around me. Thousands of people swirling. Many of the die hard ravers were in fairly ludicrous outfits. I questioned how they had enough confidence to show themselves in public, but I give great power to their positive self images. It is mind boggling how acceptable it is for anyone to express their inner wild side through physical appearance at these events. You can essentially be whoever you want to be for one weekend. I saw animals, hippies, fairies, essentially naked people, etc. My point being, nothing was considered out of the ordinary there.

My first mistake was not bringing a proper source of water. All of the rave pros had CamelBaks, which I must say were very efficient. I was that girl with a deer park water bottle constantly in her hand waving it around while I was trying to dance (however one properly dances to EDM music?).

Making a schedule ahead of time took a decent amount of effort. With a large group of ten people, we all had to compromise on what artists we wanted to see since many people performed at the same time. And even though you make a schedule, you don’t actually stick to it 100 percent. So don’t fret, you may end up seeing someone who wasn’t on everyone else’s list before but you had secretly hoped to watch.

Speaking of groups of people, I found that it is very important to attend an event like such with a trusting group. I was not necessarily friends with everyone I first entered the festival with, but I feel much closer to most of them after we spent so much time together. It was important for me to know that there were people with me who were smart, safe, and careful. Everyone had each other’s backs and we never once lost anyone in the crowd. Nonetheless, the group you go with can definitely make or break your experience. Thankfully, I can say that my experience was amazing because of the nine other awesome people I went with.

It’s a great feeling when you hear one of your favorite artists play one of their remixes you found on Soundcloud that you couldn’t stop listening to for months. It’s an amazing feeling to actually feel the music in your bones that you had once blasted in your car. Nothing is the same as seeing a performer live.

Once the sun goes down it is like you are in a whole new world. The whole area lights up the sky. The ferris wheel becomes much more appealing, the music turns into full-fledged performances with amazing light shows, and the vibes are just incredible. The atmosphere was unlike any other. Everyone is happy around you. Everyone is there for the same purpose- to enjoy great music. The days were hot as hell, but it cooled down once the sun began to set; however, that part didn’t even matter because everyone was having a great time.

Now picture one of your most favorite artists being the closing act of the day. Almost everyone is there crowded around the stage anxiously waiting for the first beat drop. Imagine a rainbow of lights bouncing off the stage into the crowd for an entire set. As a fairly light female I was able to get up on my boyfriend’s shoulders and see my favorite acts from up above. Seeing everyone moving to the same beat and singing on the top of their lungs to an infamous hit single is something I’ll never forget. And of course I caught it all on video to watch during my post-festival depression.

The best part about festivals is knowing you can wake up the next day and do it all over again. It’s a never-ending weekend of pure fun…then the week following is basically characterized by endless hours of sleep, healthy eating to make up for all of the fries and chicken fingers, and blasting your newfound favorite songs from the festival.

I encourage everyone to attend at least one music festival in their lifetime. It may or may not be for you but it’s worth the try and Instagram posts.