Justin starts a blog

A lifetime at Burning Man

Burning Man was an incredible, life altering experience that I’ll never forget. It has seared so deeply into my skin that going again next year, or every year, is a given. It’s one of those things that’s really hard to describe. The pictures you’ll find online do not even begin to tell the tale. I think the best way for me to explain it is in terms of age.

There were times when I felt like I was five. I’m seeing the world for the first time. The first night out the playa was especially like this. Standing near the man and seeing all this insanity around you, a world that doesn’t even make sense, and letting the reality of it sink in. Imagine smiling one of those slap happy silly smiles with one hand on the back of your head. Two parts awe, one part excitement, and splash of adrenaline.

There were times when I felt like I was ten. I’m riding bikes with my friends. We’re just out having fun. We’re literally playing. Riding out on adventures into deep playa with not a care in the world. Every five minutes someone exclaims, ‘Whoah! Check that out!’ and we ride over to scope the scene.

There were times when I felt like I was fifteen. Readying my pack and my bike for the night’s mission. It felt just like getting ready for that epic TP run. On the first night it even had the accompanying anxiety. For me fifteen was a time of great promise too, dreaming of being a code hero some day. The inspiration I took away from the playa felt similar. I dream of making playa art now.

There were times when I felt like I was twenty. This part everyone expects. Burning Man is a big ass party, and I surely did plenty of that. Definitely different than any party I had ever been to before, but still those aspects of staying out all night and getting trashed were definitely there.

There were times when I felt like I was thirty. Logistics, logistics, logistics. Burning Man takes a lot of hard work and prep before, during and after — and I only had a small fraction of that responsibility. It was definitely worth it, but sometimes I felt like our RV needed a conference room. Sounds like a bad part, but it’s not really, it’s what I do now and it’s nice to make use of that skill out in the desert.

There were times when I felt like I might be eighty and eight at the same time. Seeing the sunrise at temple was an incredibly powerful experience for me. I felt a strong connection with everyone around me. I felt stoic and wise at one moment, and overwhelmed and emotional the next. I totally underestimated this part and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I suspect the Burning Man experience is different for everyone. For me this is the best way for me to make sense of it all. I can only take bits and pieces of my short lifetime of experience to compare with the week I spent on another planet.