It’s dark, you are tired and all you really want to do is go to sleep. But the butterflies in your stomach disagree. You pull up to what looks like the biggest traffic jam you have ever seen but there is no complaining. Having your car searched, filing into rows and rows of people and setting up a campsite is not ideal at two in the morning. The butterflies just keep growing, so complaining is nonexistent. After everything is ready to go for the week, I stood on the top of my truck and looked out over the acres of land, that was filled to the brim with people, and I couldn’t help but think, “Man, I made it.” As I was standing there, a howl grew from one section of campsites and spread to another and then another and soon the entire 530 acres were howling like savage wolves and that was when I thought “Wow, I really did make it.”
That was it, the start of what was to be the most religiously freeing week of my life. The 2 a.m. night adventures didn’t stop after I set up camp. I walked down the roughly paved road, my mind was racing with so much excitement. I came upon a road, kind of like a mini marketplace street with a band playing on a small stage. In that moment I was mesmerized. I felt like I belonged there, like there was no other place in the world I was suppose to be, at that moment and time.
When the blazing summer sun rose that morning,The gates haven’t even opened, yet there was so much more to explore before they did. I felt like a kid seeing their first playground, and it was my playground for the week. I sat under a large tree near the gates to escape the beating sun rays. The people passing by hypnotized me. Some traveled from hundreds of miles away, other a couple hours just to be here in Manchester, Tennessee. They all came here to this small town, each with unique stories to tell and passions to express. Some were painting the walls, some just relaxing until the gates open and others dancing the the beat of their own drum. That is what I truly loved about this place.
Everyone was their self. It wasn’t a society in which you had to worry about what people thought about you. It was normal to dare to be different. It was normal to wear whatever you wanted. Even the dirtiest, muddiest, sweatiest clothes were not looked down upon. If you believed in a certain religion, or if you were gay, lesbian, transgender, or if you did a weird morning exercise it was okay to express it. People didn’t give you sideways glances, they were interested. People wanted to learn about what your beliefs were, and why you do the things you do. It was normal to be yourself. It was a world I wish I could have lived in forever. People on the farm accept people for who they are inside, and they don’t judge by the outside. It’s how it should be all the time in the real world, not just for a week.
I was standing arms length away from the biggest stage on the farm. My butterflies were growing in my stomach again and I couldn’t hide my excitement. Then the lights came on, the music started playing and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis appear on the stage. It felt like a smile was just tattooed onto my face. In that very moment I felt alive. I felt like I could do anything I have ever wanted. I didn’t feel like I had any other responsibilities except be to there in that sea of wild people and listen to the art Macklemore and Ryan Lewis made for us. When I heard everyone singing the song with them, it felt like we were all the same person. Standing in total chaos, surrounded by thousands of people, I started crying, tears of pure joy and happiness, the world stood completely and utterly still. This was where my life changed forever. This was where I understood life a little more, people a little more and music a little more. This was where I was meant to be. This was Bonnaroo.
