People seem to have a love/hate relationship with Coachella. By this I mean people are either totally with it or totally against it. Having just gone this year to weekend one for the very first time I have gained some insight. I am not going to lie…I had my concerns and doubts about Coachella before I got there. I was worried I wouldn’t like or even know the majority of the lineup, I was worried about camping and not having privacy, I was worried about not fitting in, and I was worried that three days would be far too long. After experiencing it first hand I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. In fact, I am already counting down the days until Coachella 2017 and here is why.
Camping.
This is one of the main things I was worried about. I have not been camping many times in my life and was not sure if I would survive. After camping, even with its struggles, I think it is a very important part of the experience. Sure I took baby wipe “showers” and used dry shampoo on day 2 but I was perfectly happy doing so. Camping allows you to meet and mingle with many different kinds of people. It also allows you to stay at the festival festivities for as long as you like without having to worry about how you are going to Uber to your house or hotel a few miles away. It seems to be a common trend that people lose their phones at Coachella so camping is really the only way to go. I bonded with the people I camped with, you can walk literally everywhere, and if you ever need a little catnap in the middle of the day you can. All in all, camping makes the experience and even though you might get a little more dirty you will get a little more out of the experience as well. Whether you’re glamping in style or sleeping on the cold, hard, dusty ground after a long day of frolicking it will all be worth it in the end.
The lineup.
I was excited about a group of performers/groups in the lineup but was still worried about enjoying myself. I have a very wide variety of music that I like and appreciate, however, EDM is not exactly my jam and I knew there would be plenty of that and some to spare. When I walked around from tent to tent or visited the outdoor or open stages my perspective changed. Sure I still did not know who each and every performer was but I realized I was free to come and go as I pleased. It is not like a regular concert where you pay a price and if you don’t enjoy yourself that is just too bad. At Coachella, there are a bunch of performers all playing their sets simultaneously and if you are not having fun you can go check out someone else, get some food, ride the Ferris wheel, or chill out in the grass. I also realized that my distaste for EDM did not matter as much as I anticipated. At Coachella, I found myself dancing my butt off to people I had never heard of and learning the lyrics to songs I did not know before coming. Artists that I liked before became even more amazing in my eyes while artists I had not seen live before I grew a new appreciation for. The entire ambiance and atmosphere are simply good vibes. If I can have fun listening to EDM at Coachella you all can have a good time listening to anything. Even though all of the music was not my cup of tea I ended up loving music I would never have imagined while having the time of my life in the most unlikely settings.
The Food.
If you’re obsessed with food like me then Coachella is surprisingly the place you want to be. When I left for Coachella I made sure to pack yummy snacks so I would not be forced to eat gross carnival food the entire time, but I was surprised with all of the yummy and healthy options. The food at Coachella is, for the most part, small locally run businesses that set up food trucks and pop-up restaurants for the festival. Some of the food there was drool worthy and enough reason to go to Coachella in the first place. I saw many different food options so pretty much everyone could be happy chowin’ down at chella.
The People.
Like I said I was a tad concerned about “fitting in” with the Coachella crowd. I am not very hipster or obscure, I’m just a gal trying to have a good time at Coachella but I am by no means a festival queen. In fact, I had never been to a festival before Coachella this year so I had no idea what to expect, what to wear, or how to "Coachella." It was safe to say I was a newbie. All of this taken into account I still never truly felt out of place there. In reality, there is no place for judgment at Coachella. As I looked around (Coachella is a great place to sit back and people watch) I realized that everyone was doing their own thing and even if I saw something completely out of the ordinary I was not very phased by it. Once you’re immersed in the Coachella atmosphere you really just are free to frolic and be yourself with no judgment. Even if people do judge you at Coachella you will be having far too much fun to notice let alone care.
By the end of the weekend, I realized that even the worst parts of the weekend made the best parts more than worth it. Sure I may have inhaled about a pound of dust but only because I had to (try to) sing along with every song. May I have been a little dirty when I got home? Sure but under that layer of caked on dirt was the memories that will never wash away. I was a little nervous to step outside of my comfort zone, or my everyday routine and do something spontaneous and new. This experience has only made me realize even more that you never know how much you’re missing out on until you venture out and explore the world beyond. Coachella was definitely a foreign land and was uncharted territory to me but by the end of the three days not only did I conquer this land but I realized there was a part of me that I didn’t know about. Traveling, going new places, listening to new music, meeting strangers that become your friends, and frolicking in the polo fields brings out a part of you that you never want to say goodbye to. The good, the bad, the ugly…and three days will never be enough.
