I was there early, helping the DJ's set up. Being a larger than average person, I generally lend out my services as lugger of large materials around. One by one, the DJ's came. I moved tables, helped organize the DJ station, moved tables again when the janitors yelled at us, and tried generally to stay busy. We tested acoustics and lighting, finally completing 10 minutes before we opened the doors.

They came slowly at first. A few stragglers, here and there, mostly freshman girls, seeking something "cool" and "hip" to do on a Friday night. They sat in the corner and talked. With the disco ball spinning, lights all a-jumble, and DJ Strider spinning some nice hard house, we took front floor and started dancing. Out of the original dancers, I was the only one who had never been to a rave. With glow sticks in our hands, we spun, rolled, jumped, hopped, and DANCED, making it up as we went along. It was fun, watching and dancing. People began filtering in more and more, and more people followed our lead. We kept on dancing, letting the beats numb our minds and our souls run our bodies.

Some of my personal highlights of the night are the dance circle with me and three other kids, passing the liquid around; getting my hands on two glowsticks on strings and spinning them in cool patterns; using the two red blinking balls all over the floor; mastering more than my fair share of moves and making up some on my own; dancing until the very last beat of the music, with only five other people out on the floor. It was a tremendous experience. I left the party feeling tired, but refreshed in a much deeper sense. As was agreed by my friend, the unity was there that night. We all were a part in something greater.

Hearkening back to the prehistoric corrolations, this is the feeling that the dancers would get. They utter catharsis of dancing yourself to exhaustion, not caring the form or the style, but dancing the way your soul is telling you to. I, myself, was using some tribal foot movements in my dancing, often spinning in circles with a step. It honestly felt like something greater was guiding every beat of the music, every step of the dancers, every motion on every set of hands. We were all, for a few hours, part of something much greater than any of us alone. We were alive.

This, being the day after, obviously cannot describe adequately that night. I feel that one must experience such a night to find the true feeling of my words. I recommend it strongly.