I usually don’t attend music festivals. They’re not my favorite thing in the world, and I don’t enjoy spending hundreds of dollars to be shoved around in front of massive stages. But when your aunt tells you she got you a ticket to Coachella six months in advanced, you get excited.

I love going to concerts and seeing my favorite artist play, but the scene of music festivals is just too much for me. And Coachella was always the stereotypical thing people always went to just to show people they did go. But the experience of actually going and being in that moment was surreal and was one of the most incredible things of my life. It’s something that is so hard to put into words, but I’m going to try.

We stayed at a nice house courtesy of my aunt and uncle about a 10-minute drive to the drop-off place where my grandparents, who were watching my one-year-old cousin, would drive us to every day. I felt weird at first saying I was going with my aunt, uncle, and mom, but that, in my opinion, was the coolest way to do it but only if you have an awesome family like mine. This place was magical the minute we walked in on Friday. No one we wanted to see was playing until around 5 p.m. every day, so it was a nice time of the day, and we got to see the sunset. The sky was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, especially on Friday. It looked like purple and pink cotton candy swirled together, instantly making a great Instagram photo if I’m going to be as basic as possible going to Coachella. Everything about this place was beautiful and covered in art, which I just couldn’t get enough of as an art major. From a huge yellow chair sculpture and painted trashcans to a giant flower sign and abstract light up building like sculpture, this place was an artist’s haven.

Don’t even get me started on the food. Worth every penny that weekend for every kind of dish possible. My aunt couldn’t get enough of their pad thai, and eating something called dirty mac and cheese changes you. It was amazing to just have that time to lounge and enjoy your food like a picnic because there was so much space. Just being able to relax and not run to a different stage every hour was what made the weekend even better, and when my favorite artist’s did come on, that is what made the trip out there so worth it.

Seeing Jack-Ü, Zedd, M83, Disclosure, Ice Cube, Halsey, James Bay, The 1975, Rancid, Miike Snow, Ellie Goulding, Cold War Kids, Wolf Alice, The Chainsmokers, Guns N’ Roses, Sia, and Calvin Harris all in one weekend is the part I can’t describe to anyone because it was too incredible to experience. This is the part that makes music festivals worth it to me: the actual music and seeing the artist love what they do. My phone died every night, and I will forever be grateful, because I was fully able to enjoy the headlining artist that I just couldn’t believe I got to see.

Coachella is just one of those events that will always be popular and well-known. People who judge and say how stupid it is don’t fully understand because I used to be one of those people. I didn’t see the big deal and definitely didn’t think it was worth it to go all the way out their right before finals week. But I will be forever grateful I did. I didn’t just go to see all those amazing artists, but because I really wanted to have that experience and to try my best to share with people how magical something like that is. I will also never say thank you enough to my aunt and uncle who continue to want to include me in amazing things like that, and it wouldn’t have been the same if my mom was their right next to me dancing and enjoying herself as if I had one of my college friends with me. Forever amazed at the life I live and will always thank god for the adventures I randomly get to enjoy. Coachella 2016, what a weekend.