As a group of boys walked passed, Melissa looked them up and down and knew exactly what they were.
Nike Air-max TN's? - check
Canterbury shorts? - check
striped Nautica shirt? - check
"Ravers are just a bunch of sad people who use it as an excuse to get messed on drugs and look like idiots" she said.
This is a common misconception for some in today's society.
Each beat rose higher and higher bursting through each limb to take over and control her entire body and blasted straight into her soul. Lights streaming across the arena straight through one person to the other, connecting them, blurs of colours bounced around her. pink, yellow and white .
Twenty thousand people with hands raised in the air singing in unison. The intentional grabbing of each other's hands as everyone shared the hedonistic emotions pulsating through them to reveal their naked selves. She no longer cared what was outside that warehouse, what was waiting for her back "home", or what she had to wake up to the next day, because at that moment she found life. These no longer strangers danced with her and showed her love, it didn't matter who she was and where she came from. Nobody cared, she was equal, She found love, And in love, found her family.
'Godspeed, Darkside' in 2005 marked the beginning of then 16 year old Maria's life, Inside was nothing, outside was nothing. She needed an escape. She wore her "Over him" t-shirt to leave behind her two year relationship and set out on her new journey. A journey for herself, she found more than herself at raves. She found a family, a support group, best friends, and lovers, parental figures amongst them she found brothers and sisters it was everything she had ever wanted. Her raving friends weren't what you think. They studied with her, went out to dinner with her and hung out like every other regular teenager did. She had never once felt pressured, never once felt degraded never once felt victimised.
Raves were her happy place. Everyone "PLUR"-ed. She learnt the ultimate lesson. "Do not judge a book by its cover everyone has a story to tell, you just have to be willing to listen" She says.
So why is the rest of the world judging?
October, 1995 claimed it's first Australian Rave Victim, Anna Wood. The fifteen year old school girl died from water intoxication secondary to drug use. Following this was an outrage of panic, and raves were morally slammed by the media resulting in highly sensationalised and speculative reports. The tragic death of the
teen saw the shut down of 'Apache dance parties'. Following was the introduction of the code of practice for dance parties, being passed in 1997. This marked the beginning of negative media attention and connotation associated with Rave Parties.
The public neglected the world behind raving; they turned a blind eye to what ravers took away with them from the parties and instead replaced it with negative stereotypes. "[I've been associated with being] Unemployed, a drug addict, a junkie and a freak." Maria is distraught that ravers get associated with such negative things.
"Firstly drugs are prominent in every circle of society. I've gone to top end clubs in the North Shore and walked into bathrooms with girls in designer dresses snorting cocaine. Drugs are everywhere. It is silly to assume only ravers use them. Secondly, in my experience I've met a diverse group of people at raves. Some are Uni students, some school students; I've met a cheerleader, a professional podium dancer, tradespeople and executive personal assistants. Ages and where people live is just as diverse.. I have raving friends who when I was 16 were between 15 and 30 years old living in South West - Inner City and even Newcastle." Said MariaNick also known as DJ Technik - A Sydney based hard styles DJ is disappointed with the image raves withhold. "I don't see raving as a negative thing. If anything it is a place of love, escape and serenity. Standing above the crowd any watching them dance, laugh and sing together, there's nothing better, It's over powering and overwhelming, it's not a bad place It is extremely rare for myself to ever witness any fights or hatred. It is really a rave family." Said Nick
Ravers form a sub society within society yet are rarely looked upon as one of the majority. They are viewed as the outcasts of society in their world they aim to produce a utopia, and in that warehouse for those few hours they forget all the negativity that surrounds everyday life. The violence, abuse and attitude they are subjected to day in and day out. 24 year old Ilker never got into the raving scene but attended few. "The music that rave's play connects heartbeats off everyone, it is so loud and the lighting draws all brain wave's to another level it was like they were a family."
"When an ex-raver meets another person who is an ex-raver there is an instant connection. It's difficult to explain unless you're actually a part of it, but it's like a mini society that exists within society." Maria tells.
To this day raves are still looked down upon and Maria can understand that raving has lost its true meaning and has instead become a fad. "I feel as though the scene has changed. I feel as though the bad wrap raves are given have driven away the real ravers. It's a shame. Raves were a great place to be." Nick also agrees with this. "It's not what it use to be, now it's filled with lads, it's become a trend"
Six years ago Maria attended her first rave. She no longer goes and stepped out of the raving scene two years ago. Maria is now a law student working in a law firm and will never forget her raving days.
"I could never go back to raving due to my working and studying demands but I will always remember and miss the way it was when I was a raver without restriction or fear of judgement. It's a rare way to feel in today's day and age I still look back on my raving days as the best days of my teen life. Whenever I'm with old friends we always look back and reminisce and wish we could go back to those days."