I returned home from Download festival in Donnington Park on Monday night. It was the first music festival I'd ever been to and it was absolutely surreal.
I went for the full five days, a bit of a risk since I'd never even been camping before, but I found that I coped remarkably well. Showers are overrated, the toilets were nowhere near as bad as people hype them to be, I found myself mostly overheated opposed to freezing and surviving on nothing but bags of Skips wasn't all that bad.
Whereas I don't miss lying on the cold, hard ground not being able to sleep due to people wandering around at 3am in search of lighters and cocaine, I'm really struggling to re-adapt to reality. The place felt like home to me; I was surrounded by the music I love and people who love it too. If I believed in heaven, this is exactly what I would want it to be (except maybe with a bit more sun).
My whole life, I'd never really felt like I belonged anywhere. Download was completely different; I was supposed to be there. Now I just feel exceptionally low for no apparent reason. All I want is to be back there in those muddy fields, I wouldn't even care if it was pouring it down with rain. I can't concentrate in lessons and I don't feel like talking to anyone unless it's about Download, especially the part where I met Parkway Drive.
Realising that a lot of people probably feel the same way after coming back to everyday life after Download, and indeed any other music festival, I decided to come up with some solutions that may help you with your own post festival blues:
1) Invest in a new album- yes, you're probably skint after paying a tenner for 6" pizzas and dry fish & chips, but you can easily pick up an older album for less than that nowadays. Treat yourself.
2) Find yourself in photos/videos- whilst looking at photos and videos may be triggering, the goal of finding yourself amongst the crowd provides a nice distraction. At worst you'll get a good few laughs at pictures of hairy men in mankinis.
3) Talk about it- whether it be to your friends or on social media, talk about your experience! Every aspect of it! Don't stop until everyone is jealous of you!
4) Tea & toast- even if you did pay the ridiculous prices for these at the festival, nothing can beat the home versions. Enjoy these simple things.If you don't like tea or toast, swap them for alternatives such as chocolate and coffee.
5) Pee. A lot.- Enjoy being able to go to the toilet without being literally terrified of what you'll find there. You can even wash your hands!
6) Have a one man mosh pit- play your favourite bands albums at an obnoxiously loud volume and dance around your house by yourself. If you like you can even purposely throw yourself into things to make it feel more realistic.
7) Go for a walk- follow a familiar route in your town and just walk. Watching the world go by will help you adjust back to reality.
If anyone has any other tips for getting over those post festival blues, I'd love to hear them in the comments! Reviews of the bands I saw at Download will be coming very soon!
I went for the full five days, a bit of a risk since I'd never even been camping before, but I found that I coped remarkably well. Showers are overrated, the toilets were nowhere near as bad as people hype them to be, I found myself mostly overheated opposed to freezing and surviving on nothing but bags of Skips wasn't all that bad.
Whereas I don't miss lying on the cold, hard ground not being able to sleep due to people wandering around at 3am in search of lighters and cocaine, I'm really struggling to re-adapt to reality. The place felt like home to me; I was surrounded by the music I love and people who love it too. If I believed in heaven, this is exactly what I would want it to be (except maybe with a bit more sun).
My whole life, I'd never really felt like I belonged anywhere. Download was completely different; I was supposed to be there. Now I just feel exceptionally low for no apparent reason. All I want is to be back there in those muddy fields, I wouldn't even care if it was pouring it down with rain. I can't concentrate in lessons and I don't feel like talking to anyone unless it's about Download, especially the part where I met Parkway Drive.
Realising that a lot of people probably feel the same way after coming back to everyday life after Download, and indeed any other music festival, I decided to come up with some solutions that may help you with your own post festival blues:
1) Invest in a new album- yes, you're probably skint after paying a tenner for 6" pizzas and dry fish & chips, but you can easily pick up an older album for less than that nowadays. Treat yourself.
2) Find yourself in photos/videos- whilst looking at photos and videos may be triggering, the goal of finding yourself amongst the crowd provides a nice distraction. At worst you'll get a good few laughs at pictures of hairy men in mankinis.
3) Talk about it- whether it be to your friends or on social media, talk about your experience! Every aspect of it! Don't stop until everyone is jealous of you!
4) Tea & toast- even if you did pay the ridiculous prices for these at the festival, nothing can beat the home versions. Enjoy these simple things.If you don't like tea or toast, swap them for alternatives such as chocolate and coffee.
5) Pee. A lot.- Enjoy being able to go to the toilet without being literally terrified of what you'll find there. You can even wash your hands!
6) Have a one man mosh pit- play your favourite bands albums at an obnoxiously loud volume and dance around your house by yourself. If you like you can even purposely throw yourself into things to make it feel more realistic.
7) Go for a walk- follow a familiar route in your town and just walk. Watching the world go by will help you adjust back to reality.
If anyone has any other tips for getting over those post festival blues, I'd love to hear them in the comments! Reviews of the bands I saw at Download will be coming very soon!
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