The season we all anticipate is finally here. The scorching hot days, the nights spent swimming, and the cares we hold have all seemed to become insignificant. With summer comes festival season. Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC for short,) in Las Vegas, just passed and people's Facebook's have undoubtedly had a flood of raver pictures. Girls dressed in fun booty shorts and sparkly bras, guys and girls with their arms filled with bracelets called "Kandi," and all the fun costumes people wear, all plaster the Internet. Unfortunately every year, someone dies at some festival. It could be from an accidental overdose, heat stroke, or an unknown health problem. It doesn't matter what it was because the media will try and pin it as an overdose. Every year, there's an outcry that ravers are just druggies and that we need to stop the festivals as a whole.

The festivals are just what the public sees most. The public will rarely, if ever, hear about the underground raves. They won't hear about the ones that are in a warehouse, miles away from any sort of civilization. Of course, if there's a death involved, the public will always hear. Somehow, any information fed to society about ravers is all tainted rumors. Many just see us as drug addicts, party animals, lazy bums, or mush brains.

These narrow-minded people are exactly why I tried to keep part of my life hidden for so long. I was almost ashamed to be part of the rave scene. I would get strange looks from parents when I tried explaining what I did and they would treat me differently. I'm sick of hiding who I am.

I'm a raver. It's part of my identity. I enjoy dancing the night away with strangers. I love the loud electronic music. I trade "Kandi" with people I connect with, in hopes they'll look back at the piece and remember me.

I'm a raver, and I don't do drugs. I'm not a party animal. My days, when not working, are spent working on art or taking my niece to cool places. I scored high on my tests in school and had the potential to get into a lot of colleges, if I had the money.

I'm a raver and I'm not lazy. My last two years of high school, when I started raving, I was also working almost forty hours a week to help provide for my family. I'm not living off the government.

I'm a raver and I'm tired of the stigma that comes with it. I have met some of the most wonderful people because of raving. The rude people in the scene are far and few. The people who only go to festivals are different from us.

Just because we like to go out and have a good time doesn't give anyone a right to put us down and cast us off. I know that the people I've bonded with and became friends with from raving will be there for me. Whether it's a silly problem or life advice, they care about me and help when needed. They don't judge.

It's not like we're an entirely different species. We could be your favorite accountant, your always smiling burger flipper, one of the soldiers fighting for your life, your doctor, or your farm helper. We work and get our stuff done.

I'm a raver and I'm proud of it.