March 16th, 2013 was the best night of my life.

March 16th, 2013 was the second day of the 15th anniversary of Ultra Music Festival, including acts such as Knife Party, Hardwell, Bingo Players, Chuckie, and the King of House, deadmau5. This genre of music is what gets me out of bed in the morning. This experience is incredible to remember. But to tell the story, we’ll have to go back to the first day, Friday March 15th, at 5 p.m.

Day 1

It was warm, not hot, at Bayfront Park in Miami, FL. We just had a splendid lunch with great sandwiches and had enough energy in us to dance until the next morning. However, no concert is a concert without the enormous line leading out of the entrance. We stood in the line, amongst dropouts with strange tattoos, girls with less than the minimum amount of clothes on, and huge, buff guys who were there purely for the drugs, alcohol, and scandalous women.

We finally entered the park, amongst thousands of others wearing neon tank tops, riddled with suggestive messages. Immediately we felt slight vibrations in our chests from the pinnacle of sound in the distance. From afar, we could see the main stage, the Eiffel Tower of this world, the park’s Mecca. As galloped toward it, like children running for an ice cream truck, the vibration became more and more intense, the sea of sweaty, drugged people becoming thicker and thicker, the smell of marijuana becoming more and more pungent. But I didn’t care. I wanted the sound.

It was Nicky Romero, one of my latest addictions. He was in his element, he was happy. He was doing his job, what made him ecstatic, what got him out of bed in the mornings, what he lived for. He was playing Toulouse, the song that allowed him to rise exponentially in popularity, hands pumping to the beat.

The song was building up, as is tradition in most songs, with everyone in the crowd waiting for the drop. We were approaching the drop; I could feel it. 16 bars, 8 bars, my heart started racing. This is what I was here for: this is what I want; this is what I get. What is it going to feel like when it drops? How can I prevent myself from looking like an idiot in front of these people? 2 bars, 1 bar…

And then it happened. In a flash, the crowd moved up and down to the beat, as if the ground on the Earth was rising up and down. I, too, could not control myself. I lashed out, jumping higher than the crowd, screaming louder, hands shaking more vigorously. After realizing what I was doing, I looked around to feel the expected judgment from others. But there was nothing. No one looked confusedly at me, no one laughed at me, no one pointed. They were looking at me, but smiling, as if they had met another one of them. I belong here I thought. I was instantly welcomed into this family.

Sure, they were on a multitude of drugs, but I couldn’t help but love them back. With each drop, I danced harder and harder, meeting new people with each one. I was thrust atop a man’s shoulders, looking out over the sea of brothers and sisters, riling up the crowd with whatever actions I could. It dropped and I expectedly fell off the man’s shoulders. As I fell, I thought, I knew this was too good to be true.

But I never hit the ground. The crowd caught me, screaming and hollering. I bounced up and down on top of these people. “Yo this kid’s the f***ing man!” I heard one man say. “Help him down!” another girl yelled. I was gently returned to the Earth, turning to those around me, who were looking at me smiling, bobbing up and down, hands in the air. I’ll never leave, I exclaimed, to which those around me responded with the loudest yell I’d ever heard. I was at home.

Day 2

It wasn’t over. There was more. I could not believe it. After a whole day of partying with the friendliest and most fun characters I had been with, there was a whole other one waiting for me. But this day was special. Tonight was the night of deadmau5, the King of House, the Emperor of EDM, the one who brought it all to each and every one of his songs. I could go on and on about the glory of deadmau5, but if you have to know one thing, it is that his music was my gateway into this glorious world of music.

We entered the park, similar events as yesterday, but something felt different. It was more alive. It was like the whole park was breathing to the beat of the music, people couldn’t help themselves but dance, even in the slightest ways. People outside the park were dancing as well, wishing they could be on the inside. It had to be something about this day, but what was it?

We went to a multitude of acts; first to Chuckie, then Bingo Players, then Hardwell, then to Knife Party. My friends were getting tired, but I was just getting ready for the King himself, deadmau5. But there was one more before him, Kaskade. I didn’t really enjoy Kaskade that much, so I thought we’d go see something else. However, my friend Freddy convinced me to stay just for 10 minutes. I unenthusiastically agreed and so we made our way into the large crowd of Kaskade. There were a surprising amount of listeners there for his set, and so getting close to stage was near impossible. Freddy and I brought ourselves closer and closer every few minutes or so, when someone abandoned their spot for more alcohol.
We found a comfortable position, Freddy and I able to move around a little bit, going hard with a each drop. But then things started to go wrong.

I felt a push from behind, then a push from the front, then from the left, and then from the right. I was wondering what was going on: was someone just trying to leave again? I turned around, people were pushing from all sides. Freddy and I were being sandwiched against each other for no reason. It was a mosh pit. I was not prepared to be at the bottom of it. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move, and the smell of weed started to bear down on me. I could hear my bones creaking, as they were pushed together. I raised my hand in the air to hold Freddy’s so I didn’t lose him. Amongst all the panic, I looked once more to my right.

There stood a beauty. She was unlike the rest, dressed appropriate with a midriff top and classic blue jeans, her pure, black hair shining against the light from stage. She was slightly shorter than me, thin, and Singaporean, yet with large jet black eyes. She had a look of worry on her face, as she was being pushed from all sides too, her eyes met mine. We were both in this mess together and both worried. But she seemed more worried about me than I was for myself. I kept looking to Freddy, then to her, checking on hher every few seconds. The mosh pit ended it a few minutes or so, and looking back to her, she gave me a thumbs up with a questioning face, to ask if I was okay. I gave her thumbs up back and she smiled lovingly at me.

As the set went on and on, we moved closer and closer to each other. She finally got next to me and we began talking. Her name was _____, and had been living in the US for 8 months, studying Communications. She danced so passionately, unlike the girls drugged out of their minds who simply swayed meaninglessly from side to side. She was the gem of the concert. She moved her body in front of mine, and we began dancing. It was innocent at first. I love her conversation and just the way she spoke. Our dancing became slightly more romantic as the set continued, as I was unable to continue pumping my hands in the air.
Then deadmau5 came. All artists were performing in front of a set of panels throughout the festival. The audience thought these were for acoustic purposes or were speakers. But then, they slid away, revealing Him. He stood valiantly behind his Cube stage, his trademark method of performing. The man, who I had well acquainted myself with me shouted to me “You know that when deadmau5 performs, he’s GOING to bring his stage!” I couldn’t agree more. This man was a legend.

Although I had a revelation the first day of how Ultra was my home, it cannot compare to my feelings during that night. It seemed like my life was complete. I had everything I wanted. Dancing during deadmau5, I realized this. I was engulfed in the music I love, surrounded by people who rave with me, watching my idol perform in front of me, with my arms wrapped around a beautiful girl. Looking up towards the sky, conquered with fireworks, I knew my life was complete at that moment.

Day 3

Today was it: the final day.

There was so much left to hear, so much left to experience, so much left to share with these people. I was here for the final hurrah. The night before I had been with a beautiful girl whose phone number was etched onto a sticky on my phone. Copying and pasting the number, I texted it, saying “Hey, I’m at the park, where you at?” I slid my hand into my pocket and slowly let go of my phone. She’ll probably respond in 10 minutes or so, I thought. Oh how I thought.

An hour went by and I was with my friends at Krewella, another one of my latest obsessions. Not only could the produce great tracks, but their lead singer has one of the best voices in the genre, on par with such famous singers as Nadia Ali and Ellie Goulding. I rechecked my phone, thinking with all the vibration I must have not felt my phone ring from the text. Still nothing. She’s probably in another crowd too, and can’t feel her phone, I thought again to myself. At this point I led myself on to believe she was waiting for me. We moved onto Avicii, who all my friends were excited to see. Personally, I found Avicii to only be popular because of the hype from his single Levels. However, ____ did say that Avicii was her favorite and was most likely going to be there. I thought it couldn’t hurt so we migrated over, as my hopes to see her escalated.

However, before we entered the crowd, I told myself her absence was not going to ruin this festival for me. She’s just a girl, Anant, it was probably just a one time thing. I decided I’d look for her once more until I called it quits.

We conjoined with the crowd as Avicii ran through his set, the whole time I was looking around wondering where she could possibly be. Avicii was pretty good and I enjoyed myself, regardless of my previous opinions on his music. However, my worst fear that time came true. It was nearing the time of Dillon Francis, definitely on my list of must sees, and I wasn’t going to let this ruin the show for me. As Freddy, Kendrick, and I broke off from Avicii’s crowd, we approached Dillon Francis’s stage and were immediately overwhelmed by a sea of bass. It caused my whole body to vibrate, and for the first time during that festival, I had to put ear plugs in my ears. It was the first show where we were are the very front of the audience. We stood behind two very large guys who let us get some time in front of the camera, and one who even offered to hold me atop his shoulders. He was clearly on a variety of drugs, but I wanted some adventure, so I agreed. He turned me around to see the mass of people waving their hands and bobbing up and town, and the sight alone left me speechless. I forgot all about _____ and the schoolwork that was still left to be done. I realized that it was trivial, the worry I have for them. My only disappointment was being so far up I couldn’t see Dillon himself, even on top of the dude’s shoulders, but being right in front of the speakers was the next best thing.

Through this experience, I learned quite a bit. I learned more about myself than about the actual festival itself. I need music. Without it, it is impossible for me to function. I would not be able to make it through a single day without listening to some sort of sound. But EDM music is my heart and soul, my weapon of choice: the artists, the people, the culture, everything. I learned that this was more than just a festival. It was a celebration of mankind’s advancement, of how our appreciation for sound should not be limited to acoustic instruments or recorded sounds. People come together for different causes, and I learned that the people at this festival were genuine. I learned what makes me happy, and with whom I can be happy. Coming back to New Jersey, I realized how plain life could be. The most effective lesson learned was to live life to its fullest, and not waste iyour days in doing what you don’t enjoy. Enjoy your life, this planet, and all it has to offer, with the people that make you happy and those you love, listening to the sounds that excite your spirit.

What happens at Ultra, stays at Ultra.