Coachella is part dream, part survival test, and I wasn’t ready for either. After my first time at the world-famous festival in Coachella Valley within America’s Southern California desert, I can confirm no amount of research prepares you for 5am finishes after hours spent freezing in shuttle queues.

But despite the chaos, the dust and the exhaustion, one thing is clear: it was absolutely worth it. Bieberchella wasn’t just hype, it was a full-blown teenage fever dream come to life. There was something surreal about watching Justin Bieber — a star so many of us grew up with — not just return to the stage, but genuinely look happy doing it after such public struggles.

For his diehard fans, now mostly in their late 20s, he delivered exactly what they wanted: pure nostalgia. Even in front of an estimated 100,000 people, the show somehow felt intimate. Sitting behind a laptop, searching up his old music videos on YouTube and singing tracks he hasn’t performed in more than a decade, Bieber stripped things back to where it all began. Now, do I think a Coachella headliner reportedly being paid $US10 million ($14m) should be putting on a minimalistic set? Probably not. But as a long-time fan, I didn’t leave disappointed. His set transported me straight back to my childhood, to sitting in my bedroom obsessing over my first celebrity crush. That said, the seasoned pop star could take a note or two from Sabrina Carpenter who set the bar impossibly high on day one. Her performance was flawless, polished, detailed and impossible to look away from. As someone who wouldn’t call themselves a huge fan, I was left in absolute awe. I arrived just 10 minutes before Carpenter’s set and unknowingly ended up beside the pop-up stage she used to open and close the show. I had front-row access to the best performance I’ve ever witnessed. From outfit changes and high-energy choreography to a surprise appearance from Will Ferrell, every moment kept getting better. Then came the chaos. A moment that actually ended up being the highlight of my weekend. As the end of her show neared, production staff rushed along the barrier handing out ponchos to confused fans, just moments before the pop star launched into her hit song, Tears. The 26-year-old finished her set atop a towering water fountain, soaking the crowd below. The wind meant we were drenched within seconds but I wouldn’t change a thing. The shock of it left us all talking and laughing about it for the rest of the weekend. By day three, exhaustion had well and truly set in. Running on barely any sleep, I swapped survival mode for exploring the festival’s sprawling brand activations, including Pinterest, Coca-Cola, e.l.f. and White Claw, before calling it a night ahead of Karol G’s headline set. Coachella is officially ticked off my bucket list. If you’re thinking about going, just know this: you won’t be ready but you won’t regret it.