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My rave family is the best! They pulled me out of a big depression I was stuck in. They were friends from my high school, and right after I graduated, I was dumped by my boyfriend and was in a big depression because of what he'd said when he dumped me (ugly, uninteresting, clingy, stupid, yadda yadda yadda) One of my friends came to my house and said to me, "We are going to a little rave tonight at Wet and Wild (a water park 30 minutes away from me), so you're going to take a shower, get your bathing suit and some shorts and you're coming with us." I tried to make all kinds of excuses, saying I wasn't allowed to go, I was sick, I was tired, I had plans for tomorrow. Eventually, both my mother and my friends got me out of the house. The second I walked into the park, a cute little kandi kid came up to me and said, "Hey girl! No one should be sad when they're raving, put a smile on your face!" She gave me a big hug, and talked to me for a bit, then taught me how to PLUR trade and gave me my first piece of kandi. I was appalled. How could someone who had no idea who I was be so nice?! As I walked through the park, I met ravers of all kinds who were all so kind to me. After that night I was instantly hooked. Before the next event I went to, I hit up walmart and got about $40 worth of beads and string and made a ton of singles to trade. I started raving more often, making more friends who not only were interested in the music, but in me as a person. I love raving, I love my kandi family, I love everyone involved in this amazing scene. EDM calms me down, cheers me up, and makes me happy. Thanks to EDM, I met my fiancee, the man I know is my soul mate, my other half, my best friend. EDM has changed my life in so many ways. I will always love EDM forever.

I grew up always being picked on, called the weird kid, never fit in anywhere. Through middle school, I started to change myself to fit in with the majority because I wanted so desperately to find somewhere to belong so I could feel accepted and normal. I went through the prep stage, emo, scene, all of it hoping that I could find acceptance. When I was a scenie-bopper I made a few "kandi" bracelets from some left over beads my older sister had left behind from when she was a raver. I wore them mainly because I thought they were scene simply due to the neon colors. I fell out of it and a few years later, delved into it again. Kandi has helped me TRULY find myself. I don't care what people think about me anymore, I express myself the way I want to. I'm comfortable & happy with who I am And that, at least the majority of it, is credited to the kandi & rave scene/culture c:

It' has definitely given me some sort of therapy. Whenever I need a distraction ill go and make kandi. I've met a lot of awesome people through kandi. And it has definitely given me a different creative outlet.