Sweat beaded my forehead and my clothes clung to my body like damp rags. The people in the crowd surrounding me let off the sickeningly sweet scent of sweat, alcohol, and what was probably marijuana. I stood next to my best friend, Abbi, pressed close to her side, because that’s how tightly packed the throng of concert-goers was. Like sardines. We waited patiently for the next band, my favorite band, Motionless In White, to get onto the stage. Before them in the line-up had been Get Scared, another favorite of mine. A show of perfection was what they had put on.

A blur of black and white crossed my line of vision and I returned my attention to the stage. Ricky “Horror” Olson, the bassist of Motionless In White had strolled across the floor, smiling brightly, to help set up. He was soon followed by the keyboardist, Josh Balz. Eventually, the whole band filed onto the platform, guitarists Ryan Sitkowski and TJ Bell, vocalist Chris Cerulli, and last but not least, drummer, Angelo Parente.

It took all of about five minutes that felt like hours for Chris to step onto an amp at the center front of the stage and announce eagerly into the microphone, “This song is called… Immaculate Misconception!” That was when the crowd burst into shrieks and shouts as Chris screamed the opening line. The pounding bass of the drums came in quickly after, with heavy electric guitars and ringing bass guitar. All around me, madness was concocted. The entire floor was a mosh pit, of random kids and other people jumping up and down, head banging, throwing themselves into each other. I shared a mischievous look with Abbi, and we launched ourselves into the jagged circle that marked out where the real moshers would be spending their time.

The music blared around us, the mosh pit an on-and-off deal. The show put on by Motionless was over before we knew it. I was choking on my breath, not seeming to get enough oxygen into my lungs. I was really gross and sweaty by now. The crowd thinned out as Motionless In White took down their set, leaving the stage. My heart throbbing, I ran through the events that had just gone on around me in a matter of about 20 minutes. Adrenaline-high kids and adults, hungry for more pleasure-pains of being pushed and shoved in circles, low screams and harmonized singing of lyrics I knew by heart… tied together by the words I took personally as Chris made his speech before the song “Puppets”. He had spoken my mind, dared to tell an entire crowd of onlookers how I felt about my differences; everyone’s’ differences. Most of us were outsiders in a world of “normal” people. What Chris had announced lifted my heart and gave me the courage to be persistent in my diverse lifestyle. Those very words rang in my ears while I slipped through the monstrous group of humans, holding hands with Abbi. “The reason that Motionless In White stands on this stage tonight, and almost every night, is because we’re here to stand up for our rights to be individuals, and to be human beings. These last two songs go out to every single one of you guys that raised your hands, that wake up every day of your lives with the strength in your minds, the strength in your hearts, to say, “Screw the world, I will be whoever I want to be!”.”