Amandas Experience in the Rave Scene: An Insightful Observation

My friend, Amanda, had been into the rave scene for some time, and had talked about all the parties she had been to. I had seen a special about raves on one of those boring news shows, but what was being said, made raves seem negative, when my friend made them sound positive. I needed to see for myself who was right. My friend had asked me if I would be interested in experiencing a rave with her, but warned me about a lot of the things that went on at the raves.

With what little knowledge I knew about raves, and what went on behind its closed doors, I decided to go with her to a rave about a year ago to see what actually goes on. I did not know what I was getting myself into. I regret ever having such a thought as to experience the rave scene, and I now know why I will never want to go again.

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I walked into the crowded room and had a shocked initial reaction. There was about three hundred people there of all different races, ages, and sizes packed into a warehouse that looked like it had the space for only about half of the sweaty bodies that were there. It seemed as if they had been going to raves for years. People looked so comfortable with their environment and the people surrounding them. They did not have one discerning bone in their body. It was a different type of atmosphere inside the raves than from the outside walls.

Within the outside world, I used to see all types of racism, whereas inside the four walls, it looked as if everybody was an equal. I noticed differences in behavior between people at the rave and myself. They seemed as if they had a carefree attitude about themselves. I, on the other hand, was more standoffish and was very silent. Amanda was trying to get me to open up, but it was as if I felt I was being forced to be there. I was trying to take in this new environment and see what it was all about, but it just was not working out that way.

Codes of conduct at the rave seemed nonexistent. People seemed to go crazy as if somehow the fluorescent lights and loud music triggered something deep within their cores. Without any rules to follow, the crowds were encouraged to participate in whatever they found pleasing. They danced, jumped around, bopped their heads nonstop, and would run around aimlessly. My friend Amanda, was my source of information that night. The only thing she did, was stay at my side the whole night, like a good friend would do. Some ravers considered alcohol to be an old drug; I never saw one cup of alcohol the whole night which surprised me, considering it was an all night dance party. And because of this absence of alcohol, ravers looked for an alternate source of synthetic energy, such as Ecstasy.

It stimulated their senses, which increased the effects of many things that would ordinarily be seen as boring to a sober person, like myself. This included glow sticks. Ravers waved the sticks around, and watched what looked like a light show. It left an illuminated path that could only be truly appreciated by someone on high a dose of mind-altering substances. I even saw people wearing pacifiers around their necks. Amanda told me it was because the drug gave the user the sensation that they needed to have something in their mouths to suck on. The pacifiers seemed to be the easiest obtainable object at the time. Seeing the crowd act like a bunch of five year olds at Disneyland watching a light parade, was one of the major reasons why I had no business being at that rave.

The music created by the rave scene brought negative problems for the community and increased the use of illegal drugs. Many of the ravers who were on ecstasy loved the heavy beat of the music, because it provided extra sensation from the drug. The music was created on state-of-the-art equipment with an array of synthesizers and rhythm machines. The irritating loud music was played at a loud constant beat. It did not contain lyrical or redeemable value. The most widely known name for this type of music is called "techno." It did not matter what type of music the DJ played, as long as it was not the same annoying beat over and over again. This is yet another cause why I did not belong; I like my music to be rhythmical and have a meaning behind it, and music where a person does not have to be high on a drug to enjoy it.

Due to the effect that the drug has on the body, it seemed as if Ecstasy and raves go hand in hand, like two peas in a pod. After the initial consumption of the pill, my friend told me that it takes about twenty minutes to an hour to feel the effects which tend to last anywhere from three to six hours. She also told me that after people take the pill, their skin becomes very sensual to touch and the mind feels a sense of pleasure, acceptance, and euphoria. It seemed that it made it easier for people just to go up to strangers and just start dancing without reserve. The most common type of dance I noticed was very exotic and animal-like. People did not care who they were dancing with as long as they had a warm body to press their body up against. I could never just walk up to a perfect stranger and start dancing without feeling totally embarrassed. I had nothing in common with the ravers at all.

After experiencing the rave that my friend Amanda took me too, my feelings toward the rave scene are negative, just like the news show said it would be. I do not have the right mind frame to have even a second of fun in that type of atmosphere. Even after a year has past, I still think that a rave is a waste of my time. A rave is not the type of place I would call fun. I do not need drugs to enjoy any aspect of my life. If my friend Amanda is still going to attend raves, she is going to have to find another friend to go with, because I never want to associate myself with that type of environment ever again.