Being a raver is such a positive thing! We are all about good vibes, always there for each other, and on top of that have such a good time at raves, but sometimes the rest of the world doesn’t look at us in that way. Ravers seem to have a lot of horrible stereotypes that we get labeled with. Here are the 5 stereotypes that seem to follow us the most: 

WE ALL DO DRUGS: Not all ravers do drugs. Some people do drugs and some don’t, but what really bothers me about this stereotype is that ravers seem to be the ones that always get the negative attention when it comes to drug use. In life, there are people who do drugs and people who don’t, not just in raves! If you go to any kind of concert for any type of music, whether it’s rap, pop, country, rock, etc, there are going to be some people who are drug users and some who aren’t, but raves seem to only get attention in mainstream media when it has to do with drug use. Whether someone does drugs or not is their own business, I don’t think anyone should look down on anyone else for their own life choices, so people who look at ravers should know that they are in no place to judge anyone else, and they should also understand that not every single raver does drugs! Pills are not the mascot of raves! Like I said, yes there are some people who do drugs but just because we are ravers doesn’t automatically mean we all pop pills.

WE ARE ALL SLUTS AND MAN WHORES: Sometimes people see raver boys partying without shirts or raver girls wearing pasties and booty shorts, and they automatically give the side eye and have very mean things to say, but just because we dress like this, it doesn’t mean we are sluts and man whores! There is absolutely nothing wrong with being proud of your body or expressing yourself through what you wear. Sometimes we like to go all out on our rave outfits because it’s a safe environment to do so, and in everyday life, we aren’t able to express our unique style in that way, so what’s wrong with that? Whenever I hear someone complaining about what we wear I always say, “Why does this clothing offend you so much? Do you get offended when you go to the beach and see topless guys and girls in bikinis? If it’s acceptable to be in swimwear at the beach, why isn’t it acceptable to dress like this at a rave?”. A person is not defined by the clothing they wear, but someone who is quick to judge someone else for what they choose to wear seems like someone who wishes they could have the guts to be who they really are the way ravers do.

WE DON’T KNOW WHAT REAL MUSIC IS: This stereotype bothers me the most because I’m so passionate about EDM. Other people seem to think that because most EDM is made on the computer that is not real music, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! EDM takes so much time, skill and talent. The production process is so much more than what we all see, and I guarantee anyone who has never made EDM would have a very difficult time to even make just a simple tune. People who think this stereotype is true don’t know what really goes on behind the scenes. Also, just because this is music that makes us dance, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a message. I think that’s what’s so great about EDM, this is music that makes us feel, but also makes us dance! There are EDM songs about love, life, and everything in between, the fact that the beat is amazing and gets the crowd moving is actually a plus! This is one type of music that can give you a euphoric feeling without even taking any substances, the music itself is like a drug! Some people also don’t understand that EDM has so many sub-genres! Not all EDM sounds the same, maybe they might hear a Progressive House track that they don’t like, but that doesn’t mean they don’t like all EDM, maybe they just don’t like that particular style or sub-genre. Sometimes people need to be more open-minded, and give the music more of a chance.

WE ARE A BAD INFLUENCE ON THE REST OF THE WORLD: People believe that our lifestyle is not one that others should be influenced by, but it should actually be the other way around! A raver lifestyle is something that the world should really take notes on. Our number one mantra is peace, love, unity, and respect, how amazing would this world be if everybody in the world lived by those words! There would be constant world peace, no fighting, and complete equality. One of the best feelings at a rave is the feeling of being accepted for who you are, and being surrounded by so many friendly people. Outside of raves, there are situations of being bullied, being judged, being criticized, and not being able to be yourself, but in a rave, it’s nothing like that! If the world was like that, then there would be so much less pain in the world, so why wouldn’t a raver be someone to look up to?

WE ARE ALL YOUNG, BRAINLESS, IMMATURE PEOPLE: Just because we are ravers, doesn’t mean we are stupid! Some people look at the way we dress, hear the music we listen to, see the raves we attend and put us in this box and claim that we have no brains if this is the lifestyle we choose to live, but this is definitely not true! There are ravers who are mothers, fathers, nurses, counselors, and so much more! There are ravers who have careers, go to school and make big impacts on other peoples lives. Loving this music and loving to go out doesn’t mean you have no brains, it means we love ourselves enough to treat ourselves to something that makes us happy and lifts our spirits. There are so many very intelligent ravers, and you don’t have to have a high IQ to be smart either! To be compassionate about others, help people around you, or spread good vibes, are all very kindhearted and admirable qualities that we have, and it doesn’t sound very intelligent to think that we are all brainless selfish robots if you haven’t even experienced a rave for yourself. We are smart people who make huge impacts outside of the rave, and the fact that we can also spread the good energy from being a raver along with living our lives, I think makes us very intelligent!

This lifestyle that we live is a beautiful thing, but if people are too busy judging, then they will never get to truly understand what it is to be a raver. We spread love, we accept everyone, and we lift each other up! The bad stereotypes were obviously made and spread by people who haven’t experienced it for themselves, but all of those negative things aren’t going to stop us from continuing to live the life we love! So let's keep being the best ravers we can be while also educating the people who try to put us all in a box!

Got a creative side? Channel your creativity by becoming a photographer or videographer! Imagine how fun it would be to get a photo pass and attend festivals and document the experience? You’ll get special access to the photo pit and enjoy the festival from the best spots at the entire festival while capturing the festival’s best moments. Not only will you get all those perks, you’ll get to meet amazing people including your favorite DJs. 

If you have a way with words, you could become a writer! Usually when you think of a writer you think of someone who writes a book, but there are so many fun writing options that are EDM related. You can write for a music magazine or an EDM blog. The reason I became a blogger is because I knew I loved to write and I was so passionate about EDM! That’s why I write for savormeditation and I also made my own blog called EDMoholics. You can combine your love for music and express it through your words by writing. There are an endless amount of music blogs, websites and magazines out there that you can strive for! Do it well enough and you could get press passes to all the festivals you want!

Be part of the show and become a dancer or performer! If you are someone who loves to dance then this is the perfect career choice for you! If you love expressing yourself through dancing then being able to get up on stage or walk around the event would be a dream come true! Seeing all the amazing performers is one of my favorite things about going to festivals. They always add such a fun aspect to the experience. Not only will you get to move to your favorite music and have all eyes on you, but you get to wear the coolest costumes and have so many other passionate dancers up there with you who you can share this experience with together!

Be hands on with stage design and stage production! All the lights, sound system, and decorations are made possible because of everyone involved in stage design! You can look and see how to be part of a stage production team or even be an entrepreneur and work on starting your own company! Without the production, these festivals wouldn’t even be possible, so it’s cool to know that you would be working as such an important part of the rave and festival puzzle. Also seeing the crowd have an amazing time and in awe of all your hard work would feel so rewarding!

These are only a few jobs that have to do with the EDM and rave lifestyle but there are so many more career paths out there that are also involved with this culture! Raving and EDM is your passion so you should really look into doing something where you can get paid to do what you love. Combining your skills with your passion is a match made in career heaven! If you are doing what you love, you will never feel like you are working because you will be getting paid to do what you love. When looking at your future career, think outside of the box and look into work that involves your love for EDM.

The first thing I loved about VIP was the speedy entrance! It’s always such a bummer to be so excited and then have to wait in the long lines to get inside, so being able to get the separate entrance was awesome – especially since GA ticket holders got held up by security at the gate for a while on Sunday night. As soon as we walked in, we headed to the cosmicMEADOW VIP viewing area and I was impressed! There little light up tables and a bartender who served me this sour vodka watermelon drink which was AMAZING! This area was really close to the stage so we had a stellar view of the stage.

Later on in the night we headed to the kineticFIELD VIP area which is up on the elevated deck. The best part of this VIP area was the clear view of the stage over the entire crowd. One of my friends especially loved this area because they had a special IPA beer that he loves and this was the only place at the festival you could get it.

Another plus? The bathrooms! They were such a lifesaver. They were nicer and cleaner than your usual porta potties. Aside from nicer bathrooms, there were fun little areas around as well. When I saw this pit filled with colorful plastic balls, like the ones you can find at Chuck-E-Cheese, I couldn’t help but jump in! There were also nice, big areas with couches you could chill at which worked wonders for my tired feet. And another favorite of mine: the photo areas where there was a huge picture frame set up with “EDC” written across the top. Kinetic’s VIP area was a ton of fun and I definitely had a ball there.

Even though VIP was great to experience, I have to be honest and tell you that I spent the majority of my time out in the crowd with all the other GA ticket holders! I love the whole atmosphere of general admission a little better. Yes, VIP has all kinds of cool perks, but there’s something about being in a crowd full of happy people, jumping, and singing at the top of our lungs. I simply love it, I love being a part of the huge crowd and feeding off the good vibes. Sure, I can’t see the stage as well as I would in VIP, but when I’m having a good time and feeling the good vibes, that doesn’t matter to me! I actually talked to more people and made more friends in general admission than I did in VIP.

So was it worth it to get VIP? I can’t really answer that with a solid yes or no. On the one hand, there were so many cool things that I got to experience with VIP that made EDC even more memorable, but on the other hand, I spent approximately 90% of my time in the general admission anyway. Next year, if I have the extra money to afford it, I would buy VIP just for all the little perks that I liked, but if I can’t afford it, I have absolutely no problem doing general admission as I usually would. One thing I can say though is that everybody should have the VIP experience at least once in their life. If there is anything that this has taught me, it’s that whether you buy general admission or VIP, as long as you have plenty of good vibes and happiness, you are going to have the time of your life!