This year was my first Coachella (wk2) and I think my brain chemistry changed, hopefully for the better. Not sure if it was the heat, B2b amazing performances, the general good vibes, or maybe I’m just still riding the high, or all of the above. But all I know is that I just feel different. I’ve gone to a handful of other festivals before but none at the caliber of Coachella.

Anyway, so yesterday at lunch, some colleagues were talking next to me about Coachella (not initiated by me) and the convo sounded dismissive. One person shared about a poop story they heard from someone else who’d gone to Coachella, and everyone just reacted to the story saying they’d never go to a music festival because of situations like those.

Typically, I’d get annoyed and reactive toward these types of convos bc folks sounded a little ignorant. Maybe I’ve also been the type to jump into these kinds of convos calling ppl out for being dismissive for not even having gone to Coachella before. But instead I just got a quite protective vibe, and said “my experience wasn’t like that, I actually had a great time.” There was a pause in the convo but it resumed to be bash-y and negative. It made me sad to hear those things especially when I had such an amazing time. That moment also made me a little reflective bc I know when I was first asked to go to Coachella, I was skeptical, not about poop stuff but hesitant that it was too hyped for what it could deliver —obviously, I was totally wrong. It took saying yes and going through it with an experienced crew.

But yeah, it was hard to think about how to convey my experience to my colleagues in a conversation like that. I also didn’t totally feel like I needed to, which is rare and that’s why I think I’m nicer. But maybe nice isn’t the best way to describe this feeling…?