For those that have massive events like Miami Music Week and Electric Daisy Carnival sitting at the top of the bucket list for another year, it can be tough to watch all the Snapchat stories and posts all over various social media from the lucky souls that are experiencing the madness first hand.
Instead of throwing all of your electronic devices out the window in distress, we’re here to help walk you through, step by step, the 5 stages of grief when coping with music festival FOMO.
Denial
You’re Thinking: Nope. NOPE. It can’t possibly be this week. There is no way. Even if it is, I’m going to go ahead and choose to believe that it does not exist. What are those pictures form that everyone is posting? Hmm… Must be some sort of prolonged “Throwback Thursday” or something that I didn’t know about. I mean it’s not like they’re all going to see my favorite DJ on the beach without me, right? Nahh… That’s impossible.
How to Combat It: Yes, sadly it is this week and those are infact pictures of everything that is happening there at the moment, but it’s okay! Think of it as just another week of rest that you’ll get before your next big festival. No aching leg pain, dead phones, lost friends, getting elbowed in the face by the guy bulldozing through the crowd to get his girlfriend to the front. Of course these would never deter you from having an awesome time, but it’s the little victories! Keep your mind off it. Go to the gym, listen to your favorite DJ and dance as freely and wildly as you want in the living room.
Anger
You’re Thinking: HOW DARE YOU GET BACK STAGE PASSES TO PORTER ROBINSON WITHOUT ME! What is this?! We’ve had kandi parties together. WE HELPED EACH OTHER WITH GLITTER MAKE UP! I can’t believe this.
How to Combat It: Think of how awesome that story is going to be! How did they get up there? Who did they talk to in order to make it happen? Was he cool? Ah! Don’t be jealous or angry that you weren’t there yourself. That will just bring their memory of it down too and that’s not very PLUR now is it? You should be excited for them! Look forward to hearing all the crazy stories from the wild week when your friends get home. You’ll see the pictures and watch the videos, and get excited for the next big event you have coming up.
Bargaining
You’re Thinking: If only I saved my money. Why did I have to buy all those boxes of kandi beads? I CAN’T EVEN WEAR THEM ANYWHERE. If only I planned it out the right way and just did the payment plan, I wouldn’t be a thousand miles away writing a paper right now.
How to Combat It: Well, there is no sense in kicking yourself now for every corner you could have cut or all the purchases you didn’t really need to make. Next year is another year! And there are so many other festivals coming up that you can and will attend, making you forget the weekend you missed. Afterall, you’re a raver! You’re always at the hottest shows! Missing one isn’t going to kill your street cred. Sitting it out one more year just keeps that magical first experience at your fingertips longer.
Depression
You’re Thinking: I’m missing it. I’m missing everything. The FOMO is real. I can’t look at it anymore. I’m taking anything and everything I have that connects to social media and throwing it RIGHT out the window. I hate this. I should be screaming and jumping to AfroJack right now, but instead I’m laying here shoveling Chipotle into my mouth and trying to experience it through a laptop.
How to Combat It: Go outside. Read a book. Clean your house. Go to the gym. Anything to keep your mind off it at this point if you’re still upset about it. Soon enough the week will be over and while everyone is coming back down to reality with post-festival depression, you’ll be back on your feet with a skip in your step. You could even hit up the Pinterest boards for your next rave outfit ideas! It’s not the end of the world, so don’t let it feel that way!
Acceptance
You’re Thinking: Well there is a live feed I could watch. I suppose I could track down my HDMI cable and hook it up to the big TV. That will make me feel like I’m there, right? Yeahhhh it’ll be fine. All the music, minus all the sweat. This could be great actually. I can actually listen to and enjoy the set now instead of the constant subconscious pat down to make sure all of my stuff is still with me.
How to Combat It: That’s the spirit! Enjoy whatever little bit of it that you can. Just because you aren’t there doesn’t meant that you shouldn’t see it! Who knows, maybe you really will catch something that you wouldn’t have if you were there. Less focus on finding a seat when you’re winded, and more focus on the drop.
See? That wasn’t so bad. Of course it isn’t fun to miss one of the most anticipated events in the world of electronic dance music, but you don’t have to miss it altogether. There will be plenty more festivals and shows with tons of DJs and thousands of adoring fans that you will find yourself right in the middle of. Until then, you can relax knowing that they have yet to pass.
How else do you pass the time during a festival you were dying to attend but weren’t able to?
Let us know in the comments!
