I had my first Coachella experience last weekend!
Maybe it’s because I was stone sober but all I could think was, “How do all these young people afford this?!!”
In case you didn’t know, a general entry wristband to the music festival costs $375. Homes in the area rent for thousands of dollars per night. With food, gas, and shopping for barely-there clothes (there’s a particular Coachella fashion “code” that exists) I think it’s fair to say that each person, the majority of which are twenty-somethings, shell out about $1,000 for one weekend (a very conservative estimate).
How and why do hundreds of thousands of people fork over allll this money?!?! Especially with so many people complaining these days about how much money they don’t have!
Thankfully, an article I read asked this question to a few attendees. It turns out that some people will do whatever it takes (even save and budget – imagine that!) to have a transcendent experience in this worry-free, everybody-is-your-friend, musical environment. “I have no care in the world here,” said one young woman interviewed for the article.
So one thing’s for sure. The complaint that “I can’t afford it” should be banished from our collective vocabulary because it’s clearly not true. The truth is that if you don’t buy something it’s because it’s not that important to you. So when faced with a cost that we don’t want to pay, we should instead say “I don’t want it enough.” The difference is that the “can’t afford” statement makes you a victim of circumstance whereas the “don’t want it enough” statement makes you and your values the controlling decision-maker.
Feeling in control of your own life and finances — how’s that for a transcendent experience?!
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