Tomorrowland 2013 Experience: Blog

Tomorrowland 2013... how do I even begin to explain my experience..? It was absolutely incredible. There is no other place in the world like Tomorrowland. For EDM lovers everywhere, this is paradise. It hurts to write this blog, because it's only a reminder that it's all over and I'm not there anymore.

I've been so lucky to be able to experience an event that some people can only dream about. I held my Canadian flag up high (although I wished I had brought a bigger one) and watched hundreds of other flags up in the air as we all sang and danced to the songs we all know and love.

If you don't know what Tomorrowland is, GTFO. Just kidding, let me introduce you to the world of amazingness that is Tomorrowland.

Tomorrowland is a GIANT electronic music festival that occurs every year (July) in Boom, Belgium, a small town located between Brussels and Antwerp. Like I said, it is an electronic dance music festival and they have all sorts of electronic music: trance, dubstep, dnb, house, progressive, hardstyle,... The festival takes place for three days, starting at around noon and ending around midnight/1 AM. Hundreds of DJs perform on the multiple stages of Tomorrowland. And let me tell you, there are multiple stages. Some are so small, some are in a tunnel, and some are so gigantic that you will be overwhelmed. Whatever type of electronic music you are into, there will be something for any EDM lover out there.

This festival is quite possibly the most anticipated festival in the world at the moment. Tickets are nearly impossible for some to get and they sell out within minutes of release. People from over 200-something countries attend. It's absolutely incredible the number of people proudly holding their flags. There's nothing like Tomorrowland to unite everyone together.

It would take me ages to explain all the details of Tomorrowland. Let me just point out some of the highlights:

• It was an absolute breeze to get in. You just scan your Tomorrowland bracelet, and you're in. No line, no fuss.

• The energy of the crowd is incredible. Especially near the front of the main stage where people are going crazy. You can get high off of the energy alone. You don't even need alcohol or drugs. Just being there will get you buzzed like never before.

• Everyone is chill and friendly. Never saw one fight happening, and everyone just wants to mingle with everyone. People love us Canadians, so it definitely wasn't hard. We met people from all over the world: UK, US, Australia, Israel, Germany, Ireland, etc... So if you go, make sure you bring a flag to represent where you're from. 

• Hardwell. 'Nuff said. 

• The light show and the fireworks at night in the mainstage was the most incredible I've ever seen in a music festival. I've been to my share of EDM events and the light show at Tomorrowland (not surprisingly) is on a whole new level. (These pictures do NOT do justice. The video above is a little better.)

• The selection of food was pretty decent. But keep in mind that before this, I had never really been to a day-time music festival before, so I don't really have anything to compare to. There was a pretty good number of different food vendors (below is a picture of the "veggie burger" I had twice). I do have a little complaint about the water bottles they give out though. Those tiny little water bottles do not last to save my life. I had to constantly refill them! Next year, PLEASE have bigger water bottles (at least 500 ml).

• All the DJs perform their best at Tomorrowland. Since it's such a highly anticipated, watched and marketed event, this is the best time for them to show the world all they've got. You can bet that the sets I heard were incredible. Here's a pretty decent shot of Alesso, after I somehow ended up in the middle of the crowd! Woot! 

Anyway, that was a VERY brief overview of my experience at Tomorrowland 2013. I may do a recap of each of the three days. But that might be too depressing for my poor little heart to handle... I will just have to wait for next year to come... 

p.s. Please let me know if you have any questions or requests for more info :) I'd be more than happy to help. 

Thanks for reading, 

The Rosatron

25 Reminders for the 25-Year-Old-Me

I'm turning 25 in a little over a month and I'm slightly freaking out. At the same time, I've been freaking out basically every year for the past 7-ish years of my life only to come to the realization that it's really not that big of a deal. Maybe this year is even more terrifying because I'm turning a quarter century old. I can't even say that I'm having a "quarter life crisis" anymore, unless I plan to live to 100 (and with my history of alcohol consumption, the chances of that happening are slim).

I basically had a heart attack when I was filling out an online form a couple of weeks ago, and under "Age Group", the choices were "18-24" or "25-34". I will now soon move up an age group. I will no longer belong in the cool, trendy, youthful demographic of 18-24. Now I will be paired with the 30-somethings and marketing companies will now try to sell me fancy kitchenware and anti-wrinkle night creams.

Maybe it's the fact that I'm terrified of turning 25 or the fact that I'm spending way too much time in front of the computer, but I constantly find myself reading random lists about being 25. So here is my own contribution to these lists. This is going to be my 25 Reminders for the 25-Year-Old Me.

1. Never underestimate the value of sleep. Sure, at 18, you may have pulled a few all nighters. Now, if you don't sleep, you know you'll look and feel like death. Get your 8 hours in.

2. Never stop travelling. Sure, you've already done quite a bit of travelling, but there's so much of the world you still haven't seen yet. If there's one luxury in the world that's worth spending money for, it's this. Keep exploring.

3. Stop telling yourself that you're "too old". Pretty soon, you really will be too old. So be adventurous and be daring; just don't be stupid.

4. Learn to let your guard down. Don't be afraid to let new people into your life. It's going to get harder and harder to meet new people so be more open-minded.

5. Know your limit (In this case, your alcohol limit, although this could be applied to many situations). It was cool at 18 to down ten tequila shots and puke your guts out an hour later. Now every body-aching hangover is a reminder that it's just not fun anymore (if it ever was fun).

6. Don't Facebook status too much personal shit. It's embarrassing, no one cares, and it'll come back to haunt you later.

7. Stop wasting your money on useless crap. Or on overpriced crap. It may have been cool in high school to buy brand named jeans for $300 but you should probably pay your bills and no pair of jeans are that good in quality.

8. Learn to get rid of your shit. That shirt you bought 5 years ago, only wore once but kept telling yourself that you may need it one day? Get rid of it.

9. Stop comparing yourself to all your seemingly successful friends who are "also 25 but is married and making so much more money than me". So what?

10. There's nothing wrong with being at a mediocre job that you don't like. I know you think you could be doing so much more with your life and that you didn't get a degree to do what you're doing now. But this is all part of life and it's something that most people go through. Just remember that you're not stuck there forever and be thankful that you even have a job in this shit economy.

11. Never stop learning.

12. Let go of the people who have let go of you. Sometimes there's no sense in wasting your time trying to mend things with people who stopped caring a long time ago. Just let it go, move on, and spend your precious time with people who also want to spend their precious time with you.

13. Have a savings account. And give it some lovin'.

14. Stop living in the past. What's done is done and there's really nothing you can do about it now. Coulda Woulda Shoulda.

15. Spend more time with your parents. Now that you're 25, they're the coolest people you know.

16. Don't freak out because you don't have it all "figured out". Trust me, no one does and no one ever will.

17. Clean your damn room. You're not a teenager anymore.

18. Be there for your friends when they need you. Sure, we're all busy. But think about the times when your friends were there for you when you needed them most.

19. Have a responsible number of beers on a patio whenever possible.

20. It's okay to stay home on a weekend and go to bed early. Remember, It's not that you can't go out, it's that you are choosing not to.

21. Don't stop being weird. Anything worse than being old is being boring.

22. Keep exercising. Your metabolism only gets slower.

23. Spend more money on life experiences rather than material goods.

24. Don't be afraid to do things that you want to do in fear of being judged. People will judge you regardless.

25. Stop freaking out. You're only 25.

Are blogs still cool?

I decided to make yet another lousy attempt at starting a blog. A blog to me is basically an online, public journal. I have the same approach to it as I approach a private journal or diary. I start filling out the first page and make a few heartfelt entries. Then I put it somewhere and forget that it ever existed. Then in a few months or years, I may find it somewhere in the dust, read my first few entries and cringe. This might be exactly how this blog will end up, yet again. But I hope that it will become more than that.

Soooo here it is. Yet another blog in the world of a bazillion blogs. I don't even know if they are even cool anymore. But it'd be nice to have a place where I can gather my thoughts and write about random things I care about. I don't really want to put a label on it just yet, although from a marketing perspective that would be a smarter idea.

Basically I'll be writing about being a 20-something year old, travelling and my love for travelling, aspirations, my daily-life, etc... So I hope at least a few will join me in my journey. Oh, and here I am walking the streets of Milan :)