Outfits and substances and stage times oh my!

Just preparing for a music festival with your best friends is an exhilarating experience but the real fun begins when you arrive and you're greeted by a 34-year old single dad in tank top that reads "I'm Irish, show me your t*ts."

Contrary to popular belief, this is more refreshing than it seems. Not that I'm into dads or anything wild like that, but you're know you're at the right place when you see adults front row at Lil Yachty's set.

I've been to North Coast Music Festival in the last two years and I'm always excited to step out my comfort zone a bit and share the mosh-pit with the obviously-intoxicated 27 year old ladies dressed in fishnet leggings and psychedelic crop tops.

That's the thrill of it all. Paying $100+ to turn up with complete strangers who share the same music interest but may differ in sexual orientation, religion or even age. All of our differences are thrown out the window when that beat drops because once it does, we're no longer American citizens or Chicagoans, we're ravers who want to leave in tears of happiness or sweat (Pick your poison, lmao).

You know what makes it better? Chances are if you're drunk, high or rolling hard enough (or all of the above if you're a real one) you won't remember anything but the guy who started the moshpit by making a whole and sticking his Gatorade bottle in the ground.

It is especially refreshing to see and hear the unity of people at a hip-hop set. The performer jumping into the crowd, everyone screaming profanities to the top of their lungs, how could you miss this opportunity?

It feels like just yesterday when Offset said the most impactful word of the millennial culture in 2017 at Lollapalooza:

"Raindrop!"

There's no feeling like going bar-for-bar to Bad and Boujee with a small, Asian girl in a bralette I'll tell ya.

No matter where you decide to rave this year, make sure you go free of judgement and free of fear because you'll meet some amazing people that you'll probably never see again and that's okay.

On a very serious note, don't exactly open yourself too much because there are some sick people in this world that will take advantage of your outgoing approach and try something. Therefore, make sure if you don't bring someone with you, bring some feistiness. They're probably won't know you've never been in a fight before but you can damn sure act like it!

Lastly, do not limit yourself to a specific music festival (i.e. Lollapalooza), go out and find a new favorite song at an EDM festival like Spring Awakening. Don't believe the anti-EDM hype, their fan-base is extremely underrated and extremely diverse. Go make a new friend folks!