Unforgettable Life Lessons from a DJ Party
The violent struggle to enjoy teaches you a lot
Disclaimer: This piece is based on true-ish events.
I’m not a dancer. But when my college organized a DJ party, I knew I had to go; I was running out of things to write on Medium and was(is) desperate to get into the partner program (see how subtly I dropped that?)
The DJ, standing below the big, bright, jingling lights was busy ruining good songs. The volume was so high, that my heart began thumping hard as if saying, “Can you hear me? Get out of here else I’ll attack.”
Lesson learned: Your heart will sometimes threaten you to not do something but you must do it anyway. Sometimes only.
As I was determined to make the most of the experience, I ignored my heart and decided to dance. As I wasn’t a dancer, I looked around to see what other people were doing and I thought I’d follow them. The arena was so packed that people only had enough space to jump, so that’s what they were doing. Jumping.
Some waived their hands while jumping.
Some hooted and cheered.
Most of them unintentionally(I guess) punched and smacked the people around them.
I got hit on my head, punched on the side, and stomped on my foot within three seconds. Puzzled by this random revenge, I looked around but I couldn’t figure out who the culprits were.
Lesson learned: Wear a steel armor for DJ parties if you have to go.
Afraid I might get hurt again, I moved through the swarm of people to a section where I found my classmates. They were in a better position; they made these circles and did the same steps together.
Nice. Nothing could go wrong.
Until it did. One of my friend’s friend barged in and began dancing as if she’d always been a part of the group. She did the steps louder than others and pushed me aside. I almost fell out of the circle. After exchanging a couple of glares with her, I decided to up my game. I took up more space and did my steps loudly.
Soon, both of us were outside the circle and a look of pure confusion covered our sweaty faces.
Lesson learned: Never compete with random strangers, especially if there’s no prize money.
Realizing no funny things were happening so far that I could write about, I decided to take a break from my intense experiences and observe the arena from the sidelines. After a moment or so, I felt something warm and wet on my foot. It was nice. Then I wondered why it was nice. I looked down and found a dog peeing on my foot. An intense regret filled my mind with the speed of light.
Lesson learned: All that glitters is not gold; all that feels warm isn’t a blanket. Or good food. Or life being nice to you.
Disgusted and tired, I washed my foot and came back. A friend of mine dragged me back into the arena saying it was time for the last song. Suddenly, the lights went off. People hooted like owls as if it was the first time they’d experienced darkness. As if the cheering and hooting would bring back electricity. As if…
While I was busy mentally criticizing the animal sounds, I was suddenly lifted into the air. I didn’t understand who was carrying me. I yelled. Abduction was the last thing I needed that night. When the lights turned on again, people I’d never met in my life before screamed into my face, “Happy birthday!” Then one of them said, “Oh, you’re somebody else. Sorry.”
My heart thumping at a million bpm began calming down.
Ultimate Lesson learned: Never do things only to write about them on Medium. Do things that are good for your heart.
