As you course through the daily routines and surprises that come with life, the saying “you can never judge a book by its cover,” can be applied to just about every situation.

The day I had been looking forward to since New Years had finally arrived: Extreme Thing. The peak of spring weather finally hitting Vegas, my favorite bands playing right before my eyes and some even in reaching distance, spending 12 hours in the sun with some of my best friends doing what my life revolves around, what more could I possibly ask for?

When hearing about Extreme Thing or even Warped Tour, however, some of my fellow classmates do not see these places as the same type of fun that I look forward to and count the days towards. In fact, just the mere mention of these types of festivals lead to many negative comments and concerns by those I share my experiences with.

“How can you stand outside for 12 hours just to listen to a bunch of guys scream through a microphone?”

“Is that even music?”

“What is so fun about punching each other to loud music while rubbing sweat and hot skin with this around you?”

These are just some of the reactions and comments I received when telling my friends and peers as to how I spent the last Saturday of March. It might not help that I came to school the following Monday adorned in bruises and cuts on the upper half of my arms, aching pain in my back, and an uneven farmers tan that could be in competition with anyone from Jersey Shore. The patch of hair missing on my left eyebrow earned from last year’s festival after being kicked by a crowd surfer definitely did not support my case, but hey, it made a pretty cool boxers cut and running joke that will stick with me forever.

[vision_pullquote style=”1″ align=””] “How can you automatically assume that paying a visit to any rock concert will land you in the hospital with a coma?” [/vision_pullquote]

How can you automatically assume that paying a visit to Extreme Thing will land you in the hospital in a coma?

I expect to receive comments like these based on the music that I listen to. To most people, this genre is “screamo,” but the technical term I go by is metalcore and alternative rock. Not everyone is going to like the same music as the other person considering we all have different tastes. However, my irritation is caused by the fact that people judge do not give these events a chance.

How can you automatically assume that paying a visit to any rock concert will land you in the hospital with a coma? Granted, there is a chance of injury upon walking past the security check-in to the venue, but it all depends on the bands you see, areas you stand in, and the people you surround yourself with.

The problem here with these comments is the fact that many have not experienced what it is like to attend Extreme Thing or any other hardcore music festival. My peers draw an automatic conclusion about them based on what they have heard about this event rather than experience. The black eyes and bruises that cover attendees may paint a picture of concern for those who have not been to a show of this nature.

As I said earlier, do not judge a book by its cover. Extreme Thing is all about diversity and giving everyone a chance to explore music tastes they have never considered before and offers some old favorites. Why sit there and only guess what goes on at Desert Breeze Park on the last Saturday of every March? Who knows, you might find music that will stick with you for a while and will excite you for what awaits at Warped Tour.

Keep calm and rock on, readers.