I came back from California a little over a week ago and what a rude awakening that was. Going back to class on the 19th felt so pointless considering I have two weeks left before I graduate. My senioritis is in full swing now. Now all I’m left with are the memories. I’ll hold them near and dear to my heart…until next year.
Yes, that’s right: I had so much fun at Coachella that I plan on going back again next year. It was a whirlwind of a trip, if I’m being honest. I was kind of going in blind and had no idea what to expect. That said, my Coachella experience was awesome.
Let me break it all down for you:
Table of Contents
Day One
One of the stations where they scan your wristbands was down so they sent everyone to another entrance. Unfortunately, it took us over an hour to get through security. I have to say, being pushed left and right was not exactly how I wanted to spend my first minutes at Coachella.
We made it through the ticket booth alive and made our first stop at the iconic ferris wheel! We didn’t ride it on Friday, but we had to take some Instagrams in front of it. (Isn’t Coachella half about the Instagram opportunities, if we’re being honest?)
Our agenda for that day was pretty packed. We had five bands/singers we wanted to see all in the span of a few hours. First up was PVRIS followed by The NBHD, Bleachers, Kygo, and SZA. SZA was probably my favorite. I was waiting for her to sing “All The Stars” from Black Panther and of course it was the last song she sang, but she brought out Kendrick and they sang it together. I screamed a lot!
Day 1 was an awesome success.
Day Two
We didn’t go to the festival until about 4:00 on Saturday. The bands we wanted to see weren’t playing until later and so my traveling partner Paige and I just caught up on some homework before heading over to the festival (school never sleeps, my friends!!).
I was super excited about my day two outfit (below). It’s from ASOS. I linked it in case you want to shop it. The top isn’t meant to have something underneath it, but it was so loose on me I didn’t want to give the people a show they didn’t sign up for.
This might have been my favorite music day, I got to see BØRNS, MØ, HAIM and Beyonce all in one day. Can you imagine??
Okay, one drawback: I had to pay $8 for lemonade. The rumors are true: Coachella prices are incredibly inflated, guys. (That’s why you really need to budget a lot of money ahead of time!) I complained about it on twitter, but it was the best lemonade I’ve ever had so I think I’ll just let it roll off my shoulders.
This is also the day I had Shake Shack, so overall it was a 10/10 day for me.
Day Three
A bittersweet day. I was sad the festival was coming to an end for me, but both of us were so tired and couldn’t wait to catch up on our sleep. That morning we were going to this Adidas party at the hotel we had stayed in earlier that week. Unfortunately we could only stay for a little because we wanted to be at the festival at 3:35 to see LANY perform.
After LANY we headed for the Ferris wheel.
I’d like to preface this part with a backstory. When I was in Italy in 2012 we went to the Mole Antonelliana in Turin. I was adamant about not going to the top of the Mole, but my dad had already purchased the ticket and didn’t feel comfortable having me wait alone at the bottom. We walked to the elevator and it’s in the middle of the building. The tube you go up in was 100% glass and I’ll admit to all of you that I sobbed the entire ride up. As soon as I got to the top I looked out, turned right back around and asked the attendant where the steps were. He said there weren’t any steps and I had to take the Willy Wonka glass elevator down again. Needless to say, I am petrified of heights and this was a horrible experience.
So, the ferris wheel. Paige wanted to go on and I had a free ride since I’m an AMEX cardholder so I was a good friend and pushed through my fears. I hyperventilated a lot and the cart we were in kept shaking the entire time. However, I survived, and I am here to tell the tale. You might be able to tell how uneasy I look in the photo I took:
Cardi B was on at 6:00 and I was bursting at the seams to see her perform live. For some reason my friends are always shocked that I can sing all of her songs. She was well worth it — another amazing performer I feel so lucky to have gotten to see!
Eminem wasn’t going on until 10:30 and by then we ran out of things to do, things to eat, and (most importantly) money to spend, so we called it an early night. We also had to be up at 3:00 am to drive two hours back to LAX for our flight Monday morning.
We said our goodbyes to Coachella, but it’s just for now — I definitely plan to return next year. Overall, my trip was 100% worth it and I’m so glad I went. Yes, there were some drawbacks (expensive lemonade, for one), but overall it was a wonderful experience that I’d definitely recommend to all of you!
What was your Coachella experience?
I hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane. What were some of your experiences like at Coachella? Do you have photos? Let us know in the comments below and tag us in your photos (@collegefashion). Until next year, Coachella!