On Tue, 5 Dec 1995, Nick Kostovski wrote:
Where do they end up? Hmmmm..... Good question? Well I reckon for the most part they will be like the punks and the skinheads of past, just highschool dropouts! .....There are people who waste there money, going to uni and and raving at the same time! But that dont mix, like oil and water!

Then Tristesse wrote:
If more raves were occuring I feel as though my scholastic grades would be in an even more bad situation as they are now.

In Albuquerque, which only has 480,000 people, I saw kids become totally involved in the scene. 8 out of 10 friends of mine were dropouts and all they did were just go to parties whenever they could. I think the scene is great, it has done great things for me and I'll never be the same because of it. But I see that it is very addicting to many and it scares me how many people can lose themselves in it and not think about their futures.

Personally, i think the ease with which you can lose yourself in the scene depends upon the person. its a shame that your friends have dropped out but i doubt raving is the real reason for them doing this. if people are not satisfied with things they are naturally going to find some sort of out. i love raving and completely understand the addiction, but its not exclusive to rave. any lifestyle which gives you a sense of happiness and belonging is likely be addictive.

a rave is an incredible experience, an ideal coming together of people who love the music and who are dedicated to 'the vibe.' another poster mentioned that PLUR is an attitude. i agree- people at a rave work to promote an attitude of peace, love, unity, and respect. PLUR can be applied to almost all aspects of your life. it is an ideal way of seeing the world and your place in it. PLUR and raving are not escapes from reality, they are ways of dealing with it.

Because of this, you don;t have to drop out of school or become totally involved in the scene to be a "raver." compared to what people here seem to post, i don;t go to raves very regularly. (transportation, among other things, is a problem) still, i have found since i got involved with the scene i relate to people differently. i always assume the best about people; i find myself much more willing to strike up conversations with complete strangers. just thinking about raves gives me this warm, cushy feeling inside. i think its this change in attitude and behavior that is what is going to stay with me as i get older and,inevitably, undergo a change in taste and values.

I also have very strong feelings about associating ravers with drop-outs and people who are going nowhere. Raving and PLUR are not antithetical to being successful. I speak from experience--I and all the friends i go to raves with are studying at one of the most challenging universities in america . one of my friends is studying to be a doctor. and i am going to one day be a museum curator (which entails getting a Ph.D.). in other words, we are ravers and we are doing something with our lives--and so are many of the people i have met at raves.

i also know my limits- if i have an exam on monday, partying all saturday night/sunday morning is not the best thing to do. one of the wonderful things about raves is that they happen all the time- if i miss one there will be another one within the next few weekends. studying and raving are possible. like i was getting at before,its the person, not the rave.

as for the future, i will be the first to admit tastes change- greatly. Noah was talking about how he used to be a Deadhead. I will never forget the first time i went to a Pixies concert. Every bone in my body was moved. "this," i thought "i what i am about, what i want to be." The first time i went to a rave, i felt the same thing. i am not trying to say that either of these experiences were superficial. they reflect real feelings i had/have. i still do have cravings to hear lyrics and acoustic guitars and i know i will never lose my appreciation for the levels of music expressed in a plastikman song. its just that i have had major shifts in identity before and i am sure it will happen again. that's what growing up is all about.

sorry to go on and on. i have been thinking a lot about this for a few days. just consider it my 4 cents :)

--sarah

From: tammie@grove.ufl.edu (Tammie M Yuzzolin)
Subject: Re: Where Do RAVERS end up?
Date: 8 Dec 1995 07:31:11 GMT

This is such a big question. I think everyone in the scene wonders when all this will end. I have often asked myself the same question. But, I see it like this. Our love for the scene, the people, the music, will never end. Just going out to the raves will end. All of us are going to get to that point when we have a family and jobs that won't allow us to go out and party, but the good vibes will always be with us. We will always have the people we met, and always have the music to remind us. This scene is something nobody in it can or will ever forget. We should look at it like that. Everyone makes it sound like they are going to get tired of it and just stop altogether. I know that will never happen to me. Once you feel the happy feelings at a rave, you never go back. Does anyone understand what I am saying? It's a way of life, even if we can't go out anymore. It's still part of each of us.

peace

tammie =)

Last night...the scariest thing happened to me. I was lying in bed watching "WINGS" reruns on USA, when i suddenly began to question what exactly rave meant to me, and my involvment with it. I think it was because one of my friends said to me yesterday, " I think you're gonna be one of those people who follows events and djs for the rest of their lives.." I wasn't exactly sure if this was a compliment or cut-down...so i pondered on it...ALL FUCKING DAY LONG!!! I asked myself where my involvement with rave was going to get me in life, what was i going to do with myself--make flyers for the rest of my god-given life??!! Suddenly, I was hit by a wave of discomfort...when i thought of rave...i no longer got that warm feeling--like when you're in love. I couldn't sleep all night--this totally stressed me out for some reason...I guess because raving was such a big part of my life. This morning...I was dead tired..and a wee bit delirious..8) I hopped in my car and started driving--although I was supposed to be getting an education this morning..I drove instead. I drove into baltimore and went to fells point--mind you, this was not a pleasant day to do so...it snowed. I sat down on a bench, in front of the market house, for what seemed like an hour....just thinking. I reached in my pocket for my gloves and found a crumpled up flyer...for some party in chicago that i had gone to last week. I started thinking about all the people i had met in chicago, and how much fun i had. I loved ravers...some of the happiest, kindest, all-around awesome...people i have ever met have been ravers. They're always so ready to show some one that they care--even complete strangers**YOU'RE THE GREATEST CHRIS!!** Have you ever gone up to someone at a rave and just said, " You're beautiful...don't let anyone tell you otherwise.." --ever done that?? Even if the person wasn't incredibly good-looking on the outside....they might've been on the inside--and saying that to people makes them feel good and you feel good for making them smile=) I started thinking about all the wonderful people i've met through my involvement, when some raver dudes started bustin' a groove with their car stereo pumpin' some local djs mix. I started movin' to the sound...then i was like *FUCK IT* and i hopped over to them and started gettin' my groove on along with them. we all just looked at eachother and grinned--it was like some kind of unspoken introduction between all of us...we were a part of the same family and we knew it without having to speak a single word...we just danced. I closed my eyes and let the music take me higher and higherl..and when it was over...i opened my eyes and smiled...

I knew then that i couldn't just give up rave. PLUR was a value i led my life by. I was brought together with all of you thru the music and the vibe....it united me with people i now hold very dear to my heart....I have given a lot to the scene and the message....it (in turn) has given me respect for my self and for others, knowledge, love in my heart, courage, and all of you. I could never let all this go and quit cold turkey... But if i ever do give up rave...i will be losing a major chunk out of my life...

But...thats not going to happen so...RAVE ON BROTHAS AND SISTAS!!! i truly love you guys...my 'lil family!!! i'm starting to get sappy so i'll stop here.....

----------------------------------------------tHe S0|\|!( S0UL
S!sT/\-------------------------------------------

~piper

'nuff respect to Chris, Noah, Becca, and my family in TX........people like you---its what this is all about....

From: "Christopher Silveira" <csil@hooked.net>
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 00:47:43 +0000
Subject: Re: ch-ch-ch-changes!

I came to the scene in late 1991, early 1992 when I was 18. The Summer of 92 will always be remembered for its truly awe-inspiring vibe. I would go from Friday to Sunday night with no sleep, every single weekend for the year. It was incredible, it change my life in many ways that cannot be explained. I made so many friends, people that I could actually talk to openly without fear of repercussions.

It became so much a part of my life that I actually somewhat abandoned the rest of it. I ended getting myself in a lot of trouble at home, work, and school. I couldn't fight reality anymore, in fact it seemed a lot of people felt the same way. All the people I knew slowly started to filter out of the scene. I held on as long as I could, but finally I left also. I started to put my life back together, cleaned myself up, found a job, got back into school. It took me up until a couple of months ago to actually get up the nerve to go to a party again. And I owe it all to my best friends in Santa Barbara, whom I love more than anyone, for dragging me out with them the July 4th weekend when they were in the city. I love you both big bunches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =)

Now I feel like I have a balance once again. Anyway, my point is that from the few parties I have been to lately after my near 2 year sabbatical, the scene has changed a great deal. It will never be like it was back in 92. I went through a 3 month depression after leaving the scene in 93 cuz of the emptiness I felt without it. But the thing we have to understand is that everything evolves. Evolution can be in a good direction or a bad direction. A good evolution leads to higher forms of the original, bad evolution can lead to extinction in which case the chain starts over with something else. The important thing about parties is that they are only as good as the energy people are willing to put into them. Our scene is more than killer music, mind-opening drugs, and trancie visuals. It is a feeling! A feeling that we all share together such that when we see each other at a party and smile, there is twinkle in each other's eyes that says that our love, caring, and individual energy went into this to make this work! We love each other and the things we can do together! WE make this possible!

I think that when I left in 93 I had just depleted my energy beyond my scope of understanding. In my break I developed a life in the real world where I was happy. That was my mistake b4, I wasn't happy b4 the rave came around. I started going and that became my happiness. The balance between reality and rave(party) must be defined for each of us in order to maintain stability. When there is no stability, there is no central point to pull positive energy from, therefore making us erratic and the balance tips.

Anyway, what I am trying to saying is that our life is what we make of it. Parties may not seem to be the same or have the same vibe as they used to. That is true, but what we need to concentrate on is remembering the vibe and shaping our energy around that and letting other people experience it. Share your energy, you know the difference that can make! It is when negativity is introduced in a situation that things fall apart, dreams die, imaginations stop. Without the positive energy from all of us, we will never know how high we can travel or waht we can accomplish. We can never forget that.

I truly apologize for going off for so long, I get started and I just can't stop. But just do me a favor and think about what I said for a moment one day when you wake up in a funk. Trust me I did...

Luv to all who will listen! =P
---
Christopher Silveira
a.k.a. eric longfellow (the lost dj)
csil@hooked.net
http://www.hooked.net:80/users/csil/
Junior Dragon -=(UDIC)=-
- "Beats so phat ya might gain weight!!!"