Darlin Tino
09/14/13
English 121 Memoir Paper
Electric Daisy Carnival The bright, colorful beams of light illuminated the night sky. Never in my life have I seen an image full of neon colors, glow in the dark items, brilliant lights, and music all caused by energetic people. There was a huge amount of daisies that caught my eye, especially the very tall, bright, moving daisy. It was a world of fantasy. There was a huge old school stereo standing in about ten feet tall and twelve feet wide. Enormous butterflies and caterpillars were roaming around. The Gingerbread Man, the Teletubbies, and Ernie from Sesame Street were all present. This was just too much for me, but it put a silly smile on my face that I carried for the rest of the night. My feelings were the lava from a volcano ready to erupt. The nervous feeling I had disappeared in an instant. My eyes were popped open like an owl’s eyes that never seem to close. I didn’t want to blink, because I did not want to miss a second. I froze for a good amount of time trying to take in the good vibes that stuffed the air. I took a deep breath before I stepped foot into the fantasy planet that was full of life, bad influence, and unpredictable outcomes.
The people added a glow to the place. Females wore poufy skirts, fuzzy boots, and flowered headbands. The males had eye-catching t-shirts. Both were clothed in all sorts of colors blending in with the theme. They wore multicolored beaded bracelets that were being traded, which made me want to participate. Sadly, I had no bracelets to share with others, because it was my first music festival, Electric Daisy Carnival.
On the second day of the festival I went on a couple of rides. I went on some swings that rose up high and spun around in a circle. I could see the whole festival grounds. There were so many lights. It was such a beautiful view! When I hopped off the ride I started feeling dizzy, but it wasn’t because of the rides. I made my way to the main stage stumbling on my feet like my dad when he is attempting to dance. The volume of the music was a little too high, but I loved it! An oversized shining octopus was being carried through the crowd. Flashing lit batons were being waved in the air. Fireworks exploded and added light to the night sky. My body was full of energy. I felt different inside my body, my mind and my heart when I was jumping to the music. It is an unexplainable feeling that I didn’t want to go away, ever. The whole world was twisting and turning, the lights were flashing, and the crowd was going crazy jumping along to the music with me. The beat of the suspenseful music rose up slowly and suddenly dropped. That triggered the crowd and they went insane! The music was so strong that it made a huge effect on the crowd. It was no longer was music; it became more than that. The music was the master of the people. It controlled the crowd. It controlled me. The beat would drop and we no longer had any power. We had no control in what our bodies would do. We couldn’t stop. We just went wild. Some people were wilder than others due to the bad influence. Even though we were wild animals everyone treated one another as a friend, not a stranger. After four hours of being hypnotized it was time to go home. The music ceased and everyone went to get a good sleep, because the next day we were going to return our fantasy world. It was addicting. We couldn’t get enough of our fantasy world. We returned for more. We were craving for more fantasy and music. We couldn’t wait to return to our master.
The final day of the festival was a repeat of the day before except this time I was not feeling dizzy. I was sober. The dark sky was brightened with the help of the fireworks and rays of light. It began to rain as I followed the voice of my master to the main stage. His voice was louder than ever. He took over me quickly. I got that feeling again. This time it was stronger. As I jumped to the music I began to lose myself. I wasn’t feeling the same as when I first arrived. I was free. My mind was free. My heart was free. I was far from reality. My feelings were a mixture that I have never felt before. They were overflowing. I could feel other people’s feelings and emotions spilling onto me and filling the air. I didn’t want that night to end. I didn’t want to lose that feeling. Independence, energy, pleasure, power, joy, carelessness, and happiness filled my body. I had butterflies flying around in my stomach. My blood raced through my body. It was the best feeling ever! Unfortunately, the sun was exposing itself to us. That was when I realized that I probably wasn’t going to experience that feeling again until next year. I stood still for a while to look around and just admire the beautiful world around me. I smiled to myself, because I was grateful that I was lucky to experience and enjoy that delightful fantasy world.
At the end of the weekend I was exhausted. I returned to my normal self. I came home to my family that I hadn’t seen for three days. I had to stay at a hotel near the festival, because it was a long distance from home. That was the first and longest time I was away from home. I felt a bit independent but home sick every morning before I went to bed. I would get to my hotel around five in the morning from the festival wanting to call my parents, but they would be sound asleep. I survived those three days without my parents, which made me sort of proud. I experienced so many feelings that weekend. Ever since I came across that fantasy world I’ve been addicted to that feeling. I would love to go back and feel what I felt. I discovered a new feeling and world that became my drug. I became upset that my fantasy world was gone, but I was relieved when I found out that the Electric Daisy Carnival was coming back to Chicago next year. I had the time of my life. My experience at my first music festival was breathtaking. The image of when I first stepped foot onto the festival grounds is still imprinted in my mind. The view was just unbelievable. I will never forget that image of such a fantasy world that looks as if it were meant to make me feel like a child again. Underneath the beautiful, innocent view there was possible danger of overdose and drugs that came from the music. I look forward to seeing all the lights, costumes, and carnival rides next year. I look forward to feeling free again, and next year I will have bracelets to exchange with others because I wont be a first timer anymore.