This is important for me to write because alcohol is fun, but drinking excessively is a problem that most college students face. You always hear the fun stories of how great it is to be drunk but the horror stories of where bad things happen is real and should be known and that is why this matters.
I’m not an interesting person, but ever experience is interesting and different. That is why I think I need to write about this.
Begin:
I woke up, but didn’t really wake up, more like snapped out of a trance and I was sitting next to a fire circle with people twirling flames and with no memory or recollection of how I got there. Looking around, there were two guys next to me and I had no clue who they were but in arm’s reach was my friend, Owen. So, at this point I wasn’t completely alone, but I had no clue how we had gotten here.
“So, how did you guys find each other?” someone asked.
“Oh! Ask her!” Owen waved the person off to me, “my sister is better at telling the story way better than I am.”
His group looked over at me. Somehow, in my drunk state, I…we managed to keep the story of us, Owen and I, being siblings rolling and we had everyone here believing us.
With music festival season coming to an end, a whole new season of music and festivities are coming up. Music festivals are fun and full of life. There is just something energizing about being in a space full of your favorite music with other people who also share your love for this music. Maybe you aren’t even a fan of the music, but rather the atmosphere of a festival. This was me. I wasn’t into the whole, indie-mello vibe. I’m more punk rock princess that likes to mosh. My friend, Owen, was going to this festival, Revival, and asked me to go with and after he described it to me, I wanted to just be apart of this music festival and just surround myself with peace, love, and joy. This was a hippie fest. This is my recollection of the music festival Revival and how it changed my drinking habits, for better.
Now, backing up where do I begin with this.
Owen is my friend from college and probably my only Asian friend. We became friends by accident, I was hanging out in my friend’s dorm unraveling her yarn ball and Owen, who at the time was an RA on campus, was making rounds, stopped and helped me unravel the ball of yarn. From there our friendship blossomed and we only got closer. I went to him with my boy troubles and he always asked me to hang out and to go get food with him, because I’m always down to eat. We eventually saw each other as siblings and that’s our relationship. Siblings.
It was mid afternoon on a Friday when Owen and I had arrived to the revival campground. Driving in there were people dressed as fairies with big torn up wings, others dressed like gypsies with the coin skirts, some dressed in fur like foxes, or just jeans with body paint, but for a fact no one was wearing shoes. I wonder what these people do for day jobs; this is one weekend a year. Where do these people live?
Now that I’m older, drinking underage is a hassle because you have to find someone to buy you alcohol and find a time to pick it up if you aren’t with him or her or your schedule just doesn’t match up. Or if you do manage to get the booze you aren’t even allowed to have it so you do more work to hide it. Yet this is a music festival, we needed alcohol for the music festival because music festivals have booze. So, obviously we needed booze.
At this time, Owen and I were underage, and we had glass bottles of Redds but Owen put the backpack on, because he was closer to 21 than I am, and we had to pass the security guard before getting into the campground.
“Anything in there that shouldn’t be there?”
Owen turned around to face the security guard, to get the backpack away from her. “No, of course not.”
We were so guilty but we managed to get into the campground. We decided to set up the tent and after that we went to the car to get the rest of our stuff. On our way out the security guard that let us in with somewhat of a problem, was replaced with a guy searching every nook and cranny of EVERY bag.
Luckily for us, our car neighbor was also bringing stuff in.
“Can you bring our alcohol in for us?” I asked.
A girl laughed, “Is this your first time?”
I nodded. “Don’t worry.” She said, “We’ve all been there.”
And she and a guy took our bags.
“There’s no glass in this right?”
“Oh, no.”
“Good because I don’t want to get caught with glass.”
Owen and I gave each other a look, what would happen if we were caught with glass bottles?
Thinking back on it now, I understand why no one wanted glass bottles because everyone was barefoot and if a bottle broke, disastrous. Luckily for us nothing broke and we kept the drinking in the tent. Rules are made for a reason, but they were also meant to be broken.
Walking up to the security guard, he searched all of their bags and gave them a weird look about a bag just full of cans of beer. “Got enough to drink here?”
“no.” the two laughed and after he checked all of their bags he let them through.
Our friends were still a couple of hours out, so we decided to explore everything. We got caught up at a fortune teller’s teepee. Which we learned was apart of the ‘Doctor’s’ stations and that was just a bunch of stations that helped find yourself and hone your inner chakra. There was a giving tree, where people just put things around the tree and to take something you had to leave something. Someone had a tent that you could draw on to get to know people. There was an electric neon tree next to someone’s tent, they were the definite suppliers of the good kush. Besides that there were 3 stages, left stage, right stage, and main stage where the performers will perform.
Last, was a fire circle, where the people who could spin fire, were allowed to spin fire here and only here. It was just a clearing in the camp ground with the trees cut high above, the circle was marked off by torches, and anyone inside had to be spinning fire. It was a definite hot spot of the festival.
During the day people are lounging around, shopping, or enjoying the company of others because here you’re family. Not just that families made the plan to come here because across from our tent were families and their children, running around and being one with nature. Strangers come here to be with other strangers who they will call family for the next few days.
Eventually our friends showed up and the real party was about to begin. The first night, the lie began about us being half-siblings who found each other in college. As a writer, I thought it was easy coming up with some long and elaborate true story for people to believe. It was a joke that brought people to tears and gave them hope. How could I tell them I was kidding?
The next morning; Saturday, I puked. I stumbled out of the tent and crawled against the ground, leaning over our fire pit, I puked up everything in my stomach. I leaned against a tree trunk and messed with my hair to help me breathe. People walked passed and I ignored them. I remembered what happened last night and didn’t think much of it. I’ve drank way more where I woke up with more bruises then I could count, feeling worse. This was pretty bad though because instead of being in the comfort of my own home, I had to deal with port-a-pottys. I used the bag of beer cans as a pillow and basically froze because we only had one sleeping bag.
We all woke up and the others had to do volunteer work because they got discounted tickets as long as they helped out. So, Owen and I experienced a little of Revival.
Then came an afternoon nap knowing that tonight was going to be a heavy night of drinking. I remember waking up, but just laying there accepting that this new way of living is my life. I knew there was an outside world to this wooded hippy place. I knew there was because I had my phone, how was it still alive? No freaking clue. But my phone, specifically snapchat, showed me that there is an outside world from this festival, but that’s what camping festivals do to you. You get immersed into the world of where you are and you forget what the outside world is like. It felt like a part of me had died but another part of me was alive.
We were on our last few hot dogs and after a heavy night of drinking and just casual drinking. I needed to eat normal food. There were food trucks/stands, but far from what I think is normal food. Everything was organic, homegrown, and super just healthy. I got a quinoa bowl with avocado and veggies and having to pay extra for the chicken. It was a small bowl, but I felt better but hungrier, but I felt ready to drink.
This was the night that changed my drinking habits.
We thought we had everything planned after experiencing the night before. We put balloons that lit up on the outside of our tent. So, our drunk selves would see the glowing balloons and know we live there. Our friends brought some Revival wear like glow sticks and fairy wings. One brought and started wearing a gypsy coin skirt.
I still hear the sound of that skirt when I think of Revival and it gives me a headache and makes my body ache. Just recently, I went to a Renaissance Festival and those skirts were there and my mind went into a spiral downhill, I knew where I was but I wasn’t completely sure. I felt myself freeze and I felt like I was going crazy. It’s an indescribable feeling, but I can’t focus and I lose myself and not in a good way.
The night started off with a pill of Adderall, then a nap, then waking up, and we were both surprised that the Adderall didn’t kick in. “It’s old.” Owen said.
“Let’s take another?”
We shrugged and took another Adderall pill and immediately started drinking. Using empty water bottles, we mixed the ber-ritas together with the Redds or the ber-ritas with ber-ritas making weird combinations. Taking pulls from wine in a bag, we went all out and chugged as much as we could and then we went to see the music.
There was dancing, cheering, lights, pictures, and things started to become fuzzy here. That’s when I woke up from my trance next to the fire circle.
In the moment, it wasn’t as scary as soon as I saw Owen. I don’t know what I would’ve done if Owen wasn’t around. He managed to get the guys that were following me away from me by playing the big brother card. Definitely reflecting on this is scarier because for a portion of the night, I don’t know what happened to me or what I did.
Sunday morning, the last morning at Revival. I didn’t puke but I felt heavy, it was raining outside and I was still wired from I’m assuming the Adderall. All I wanted to do was go home and Owen and our friend agreed. We decided to leave for civilization and go towards St. Paul, MN.
Revival means rebirth. I don’t know if this music festival really intended this new me to come out of it, but it did. I honestly don’t know if id ever be back here again, but I left with some unforgettable memories. Along with some multiple lessons learned.
When people say know your limit, know your limit. I let my drinking get out of hand and now alcohol isn’t the same. I used to be able to drink 5-7 drinks and still be ready to party. I can barely drink 3 without wanting to hate myself and just go to bed. That being said I can still drink but the ber-ritas. I cannot drink them anymore.
Don’t mix drugs and alcohol, especially drugs that aren’t yours. I honestly didn’t even think anything bad would happen, but it did I’m glad nothing too terrible happened to me. Waking up Sunday morning, there were band-aids holding down gauze on my left knee, I felt the bruises all along my ribcage, and on my left breast is a cigarette burn, which is now a scar that I use to watch my drinking. The redder it is means I should stop drinking, while the more blended it is to my skin, the more sober I am.
Drink in moderation and don’t be dumb. You hear that a lot I’m sure, but take it from someone who lived it and is grateful that nothing bad happened to me. Waking up somewhere with no memory of how you got there surrounded by strangers, is scary. Drugs are bad, especially other’s, nothing good ever really comes from them besides for their prescribed purpose. Change your life for better, but don’t do it by doing the worse.
End~
This is long and not all of it needs to be there. So, there will definitely be some cuts.
I’m thinking about adding some of my family aspects in the blank spaces of this experience. To almost remind people that drinking not only affects yourself but your family as well.
I have already set up my meeting with Karmen and plan to add her information over the weekend.
What are your thoughts?
What do you think is missing?