For those who do not know, Bonnaroo is a large music and arts festival that happens annually in Manchester, Tennessee. Going through high school and and college, I would see photos of people who went to Bonnaroo and would hear their wild stories. Bonnaroo always had a crazy party stigma. This never really appealed to me and Bonnaroo always seemed like a nonexistent dream and I never gave much, if any, thought of going. This all changed when one of my best friends brought up the idea of going. I’m not one to back down from adventures, so I said, “sure, let’s go.” We made it happen and the next thing I knew, I was pitching a tent on the farm where Bonnarroo is located. So, sure, Bonnaroo is this crazy party, but it is even more than that.
1. Community
Everyone came together at Bonnaroo. Tent neighbors, strangers walking past each other, or someone you are standing next to during a concert. The farm Bonnaroo sits on is packed most all of the time with people. This is something that could get out of hand and dangerous really quickly if people did not work together and help out. I think the world needs to work more like Bonnaroo, as silly as that sounds. People would share sunscreen, help someone that passed out, walk a stranger out of a Kendrick Lamar concert filled with thousands of people, etc. At the Twenty One Pilots concert, my and my friends' water bottles dropped and we were left waterless. This was one of the hottest days at Bonnaroo (pushing 100 degrees) and we had about two or so hours to stand in that heat, packed in with thousands of people. Luckily, the girls next to us shared their water with us the entire time. People really came together during these concerts. People would pass around umbrellas for shade, spray people with their waters, and genuinely check up on people. People respected people and were kind. It worked this way and it was beautiful-something we can all learn from Bonnaroo.
2. Recycling
I knew about recycling, how to recycle and I do recycle. However, Bonnaroo took recycling to a whole new level. They had volunteers specific to going through the regular trash and picking out items that should have been recycled. We could help so much of the planet if we did this.
3. Education
I learned a lot at Bonnaroo in terms of positive things going on in the world. Bonnarroo is filled with booths where organizations from the country set up and educate people on what they are doing. These things range from sustainability, to globalization, to ending world hunger. These are things that I knew were happening, but I didn’t have faces or names of the people doing these things. I also did not have a sign-up list in front of me letting me know I was able to get involved personally.
Bonnarroo was filled with interesting people, conversations, and kind souls. I personally stayed sober the entire time and it seemed a lot of people did around me, as well. It’s something that could be fun either way. It certainly was hot, tiring, and trying at many moments. However, there is nothing like what I have learned from that music festival.
