For those of you who have not heard about Country Thunder, it is a four-day music festival toward the end of July during which you camp overnight and get to see top country artists perform every night. I cannot speak for the other locations of Country Thunder, but Country Thunder in Twin Lakes defines the best four days of the year. Four days jam-packed with new adventures and bad habits.

While most look forward to Christmas each year, I look forward to Country Thunder. This will be my third year attending the festival, and I still cannot hold in my excitement for every second of those four days. It is four days of wearing what you want, doing what you want and listening to the best country artists in the United States. It is like a four-day sleepover with everyone you know. Country Thunder is that one bad night we have all had, four days in a row. You know, the night you regret but would not take back for the world.

There is something about looking around and seeing red, white and blue everywhere you look while hearing live music performed by artists some people can only dream about seeing live. Country Thunder is a music festival that defies every expectation. Living on a campground for four days, seeing old friends, meeting new friends and doing things you have never done before. Whether it is sleeping on top of a truck, sneaking into your neighbor's port-a-potty or counting beer as food, things happen in these four days that cannot happen any other time if the year. That is why, what happens at Country Thunder stays at Country Thunder.

There are no other days of the year that I would want to wake up in a hot, humid tent filled with five other people. There are no other days of the year that I want to walk around in shorts and a crop top because I am in the sun from sunrise to sunset and any other outfit would give me a heatstroke. There is no other time I would risk blisters and overheating, just to wear my cowgirl boots. These four days give me life and show me adventure and freedom I cannot get anywhere else but Country Thunder. The saying “live life to the fullest” means nothing until you have been to Country Thunder. It is an experience that reminds you how short life is and that it is okay to be wild every once in awhile.

There are some people you may see and question what the hell is wrong with them but without them it would not be the Country Thunder we know and love. My dad’s favorite Country Thunder story is a guy chugging a bottle of Jack Daniels at 7 a.m. with his buddies yelling at him to keep going as my dad was driving out of the campsites to go home and shower after we just woke up. So does Country Thunder get crazy? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes. Responsibility follows us year around, these four days allow us to find freedom and let loose.

I can promise you that if you do not attend Country Thunder 2016 you will regret it. I can promise you that after hearing stories, "jealous" will be the only word to describe you. So if you want to have the best four days of your life, attend Country Thunder 2016. If you haven’t bought a four-day pass, I highly recommend it. If you haven’t bought a campsite, I highly recommend staying in the campsites.