Before I jump into my experience, I wanted to share my back story for some context. For most of my later teen years, I would see everybody around me going to these strange events.. Called raves. At the time, I did not understand them nor did I really make much of an effort to. They seemed like giant concerts, and I was not much of a concert guy either. But over time, my exposure to them grew and I saw more and more people going to them. Then I found myself becoming interested.. Little by little, I learned more and more about them. I then decided it was time, no more waiting. It was time to go to my first ever rave, and it was the experience of a lifetime.. Here is that experience.
The rave I went to was called Countdown 2018. We planned for three months for this event, I was always the type to plan ahead of time. I scoured online and even brick and mortar stores for my outfit, I spent so much time and money to finally find the outfit I wanted. Maybe it was excessive and unnecessary, but I was far too excited to care. I wanted to go all out for my first ever rave, and I like to think I did. So after months of trying gather all my gear, we just needed a reliable way of getting there. After allot of hassle and asking around, my girlfriend and a group of friends who rave came through and helped out with the transportation and hotel. I learned a valuable lesson in those months of planning, its always best to go with friends and/or join a rave family.. It truly makes the experience so much more enjoyable and easier. Helping people help me, always worked great for me. So moving on, the day of we plan it out meticulously and get our ride there. Everything is going according to plan.. Except for one thing I was not expecting, the horrendous cold. I dressed for the heat, as raves are always hot I heard, in addition its always hot in California, also I have a very high tolerance for cold.. But this was cold on a whole other level. In my preparation for the heat and not getting a heat stroke, I was unprepared for the opposite. Well I was a little, but I foolishly listened to some questionable advice and just decided to deal with it. As we prepare to depart the the hotel, we ordered an Uber and brought all of our gear with us. As we drove closer to the event which was only a few minutes away, I saw so many people walking by and the loud music playing. We got out of the car about a good mile or two away from the event, apparently we had to walk from there to the event, it was a very cold, crowded, and long walk.. But it didn’t bug me too much. I was so excited and nervous, I couldn’t believe at long last... Here I am.
As I passed the ticket check and security, I entered and took a look around. It was unbelievable, I felt as though I had entered into another universe.. Which was fitting considering that Alien and Space was the theme of the event. I had watched a thousand videos and saw many pictures of this very thing, but none of those compared to seeing it in person.. I did not know where to start, but we wisely planned it out beforehand and decided it would be a good idea to get water. Which is the absolute most important thing you need to have at a rave I learned, it’s practically the first commandment of raves. As we headed to the water fountains, it was as though I was walking through galaxy and stars.. The lights and decorations were unlike anything I had ever seen.. They were beautiful. I can go on allot longer about everything, but I’m going to speed this up a little.. After we got water we headed to the nearest stage, I think it was afro-jack? I knew I was never a first row type of person, but the people I was with really wanted to get up close and I did not feel I was ready yet and needed time to adjust to the environment, but against my better judgment I went along with it. I will admit this first stage was very mixed for me, I really liked the music but I had a hard time getting into it due to the sensory overload and the extremely tight crowd. Basically, I wasn’t able to get used to it first so I was uncomfortable for allot of that time, but I made the best of it as best I could. Fortunately, it was clear sailing for the most part from there. After we finally got out of that crowd(with extreme difficulty of course) we went to have a small snack nearby and take a break. I was finally able to clear my head and get used to my surroundings. I was so ready. We decided to use the restrooms first, and then head to the next stage. This time I was in my element, I insisted we stayed in the middle back row and it was 100x more bearable and enjoyable. As I was dancing to the music which was much smoother and welcoming then the previous one, I could feel it all.. I felt like I was free, that I was connected to everybody there. We were all one and the same, as the lights and the lasers zoomed by.. I felt a warm comforting love unlike I have ever felt before. Outside was that freezing cold wind that tortured us when we were separated, but when we were together.. We were like a blazing fire, that burned like the heart of the sun.. We were complete. After sometime, which now hands down my favorite part.. We started to talk to people and even trade Kandi bracelets. The people there, they blew me away.. They were so sweet and kind, something that I was not used to seeing from people. I did not think there was still love and kindness left in this world. I found myself being so much more social, I felt myself open up more then I ever had. These people were not strangers, they were my extended family.. Family I had looked for my entire life, and I had finally found them.. It brought me a joy that I only could ever dream of. This continued for hours, dancing and meeting new people and trading kandi with them... I never wanted it to end.
But it neared towards midnight and it was time to drop the ball for 2019, by that time it was just my girlfriend and I, as the friends we were with had to leave early. For the ball drop, we tried to find the biggest stage we can find and joined the crowd, there is where we took in the new year. It was a surreal moment, this was the first time I have ever spent my New Years doing anything meaningful like this.. I welcomed the new 2019 year with excitement and hope, thus ending the terrible year that was 2018. Regardless if 2019 is a better or even worse year.. I will always have the knowledge that I entered it in the best way possible, and that is a memory I will never forget for as long as I live.. There was about two hours left in the event, so we made the best of it and continued going to stages and trading with people! We even bought a really nice countdown blanket, which was hilariously overpriced but being out in the cold caused us to not care. We made the best of the limited time we had left and started to head out when the event ended. Its was of course crowded and slow to exit, but that was expected. What happened after isn’t too interesting or relevant to the whole event, it was just another long annoying cold walk until we were able to be picked up by the friend that left early. Where we made it back to the hotel, cold and exhausted beyond belief, we just crashed and went to bed. The following morning we packed up, left the hotel, ate, and went home. It took me quite sometime for it all to sink in, I’m a huge over thinker and ponderer.. I could not believe that I had actually done my first rave, looking past the exhaustion and soreness.. I was so happy that I had finally gotten out of my comfort zone and enjoyed one of the greatest events of my lifetime. I could not have done it without the help of those close to me, to which I am eternally grateful and will always appreciate, they are the best. Anyways, I would be doing my readers a disservice to not cover the few negative aspects.. Sure it was not absolutely perfect, there was those annoying moments such as the extreme cold, the first stage for me, and the absurdly long walks.. But those are hardly the fault of the rave and is more externally caused. If you were to ask me now, would I do it again? IN A HEARTBEAT. Maybe its due to my inexperience at the time, maybe I’m just being overly dramatic, maybe its just the kind of person I am, maybe thats just what these events do to you.. Maybe its all the above, but I felt like a part of me was reborn that day. A part of me that would emerge to join the puzzle that is my soul, getting ever closer to total completion. This part of me was born from the love of thousands of people just like me, wanting to experience more. Now do you know what was the first thing this new aspect of myself told me? The same thing the rest of me said.. AGAIN. I must admit, now I am hooked.. I cannot just stop at one, I must go again and again. If I could, I would go to a hundred more! For even just a taste of that loving warmth. Now at long last after so long, I truly understand why these people that go to rave after rave, almost constantly.. I have felt what they felt and it is a feeling I never want to lose. In conclusion, would I recommend this event or raving in general? Of course, without a doubt. You need to experience this! BUT before you go to one.. Make sure you do as much research as possible of the event, dress as comfortable as you can, be ready for the extreme cold/heat, try you’re best to go with friends as their help will be invaluable, plan it out months ahead of time, and most importantly you must go in with an open mind and open heart.
As for me, I’m just getting started. I can see many more raves and events in store for me, now...
And beyond.
Cool post! Going to a rave is on my bucket list!
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