The first concert I went to was in high school, and it was not a pleasant experience. My best friend and I were up right at the front, watching the opening act, dancing along and having a blast. Then the main act – Greenday – came on, and the entire vibe changed. People rushed the stage, began pushing and shoving, aggressively moshing, and she and I were ripped apart from each other. Trying to get through the crowd, I politely said “excuse me” as I attempted to push through. When it was obvious my meek tactic wasn’t going to work, I began screaming “Move!” and windmilling my arms (which somehow got the crowd to part). My best friend wound up with a black eye from some asshole crowdsurfer, and I would up with an intense anxiety about crowds.

So when my friends were trekking off to concerts and festivals I begged off, unable to understand why they would willing spend their time and money on such an unpleasant experience. I turned my nose up at these ideas for so long, that even I was surprised when I agreed to attend Coachella this year.

“Do it for the story,” I mentally chanted as I got on the plane. “It’s a life experience you’ve never had and may never have again, so just make the most of it.” I was certain I wouldn’t enjoy it, but my journalistic experience propelled me to embrace the opportunity.

I’m so happy that I was wrong about everything.

Now, it didn’t hurt that Simply Be had sponsored the trip, and sent myself, Sarah Chiwaya, Maddy Jones, Alyssa Wilson, and Nicole Edelen. As we all know, the people you’re traveling with can totally make or break a trip, and since I had never traveled with any of these women I was a little trepidatious…but they were all amazing and thankfully totally made the trip!

We set out on the first day not knowing what to expect, just hoping for good vibes, good music, and good fun.

And after a mile+ walk through security lines and campgrounds and more campgrounds and another security line, we finally were inside the actual festival grounds.

There were thousands of people as far as the eye could see. Since I’m in NYC on an almost daily basis, I’m used to crowds of people, but even city living couldn’t prepare me for this.  Being that the land is completely flat and there’s nothing obscuring the majority of the area, I was blown away by the sheer number of people I could see at once.

Now, I’ll be honest; one of the things that turns me off from concerts is the crowd, so I immediately began to feel nervous. But I quickly calmed down when I realized that I didn’t have to go into the front row fray, and could comfortably hang back (way back) from the stage and still be able to hear the music and see the performers (thanks to those GIANT screens).