Lately I’ve been getting pretty angry at night, usually about things outside of my control. 

I remember how much I allowed people to get away with – all for the sake of being the bigger person, of being in the right, not stooping to their level, not causing conflict. It was hammered into me to learn to forgive people when they wronged me. By Christian pastors and ministers in Sunday school, to my parents, relatives. I was actively being bullied as a teen and told that it was because they had bad home lives, and that I should feel sympathy for them – that I should forgive them. My feelings were invalidated almost all of the time – never considered. I’ve been wondering more and more about it lately, and I feel like all the self help books, the being the bigger person – the “just get over it” speeches are all bullshit.

There I was, inside this old utility works warehouse now turned into a brewery over at East Point, GA. Seeing the people move in the pit, moving from side to side as the music became harsher, more powerful. I wanted to get in there myself, if not for my expensive camera being with me. The vocalists from all bands when it was their turn, screaming into the mic, and the band members wailing on their instruments. The energy was raw. The heat from being near the pit practically had me quite literally feeling the aura and emotion just by being near the stage and the crowd.