Letters to my Sister in Japan — Day 91
Dear Sister,
Today, I start my journey to TomorrowLand, a massive electronic dance music festival, by hopping on a train from Amsterdam to Brussels. It will be the first time in nearly a decade that I’ll attend a music festival without a distinct, must-catch artist that I plan to see. The line-up has 100s of DJs and producers across 16 stages and very few of the names look familiar. This type of uncertainty is not a bad thing at all, as it forces me to be open-minded if I plan to have a good time. In other words, it’s an opportunity for growth.
I think one of my best qualities as a person is that I’m completely receptive when it comes to new experiences. I value stories and memories and mistakes and outlandish behavior over the tried and true. I think this quality is what has brought me the most failures and successes in my life. Granted, I am selective about what it is I’ll try, but most experiences are granted safe passage in Harbor de Marco.
Now, given my years of attending music festivals, it may be hard to imagine them feeling alien to me, but genres, crowds, and location all play their part in making this upcoming experience seem new. Belgium is a foreign country with primary languages that are not English. The language barrier only adds to the difficulty in communicating with individual members of a global-scale, multi-cultural crowd. And because the festival is for electronic dance music performers, a genre I listen very little to, compared to others, I don’t know the artists too. I am out of my element. Comfortable, but out of my element.
I can’t imagine you greeting the unknown the same way I would. I know you like having a plan, or at least knowing what is going to happen before committing to a step. It’s what makes us very different. It’s also what makes it very easy to miss having you around. The differences. Oh well, I know you’re enjoying your travels, now it’s my turn.
Love,
Your Little Brother