Intro
*Best read in future Ted Mosby voice, from How I Met Your Mother*
In my first year of university, I have made a many of fond memories to recall. Some of those memories are as clear as if I had experienced them not even 5 minutes a go, some hazy (really hazy), and some totally non-existent but told through the eyes of a friend. Yes, I am alluding to the notion that I, have had nights where I have drank irresponsibly. The nights where I lost my dinner and a little to a lot of my pride. But regardless of the state of the memory I always came away with something. Something learned, a memory to smile at, a memory to cringe at, a moment where my heart skips a beat, and even better so-a great story to tell my friends the next afternoon (because there is no way I’m waking up in the morning). You’ve only got a very finite amount of years to be young and dumb, might as well use them up.
The process
A lot of these nights start off with days where I don’t want to go out. A lot of these nights you intend to be “netflix and chill” but instead happen like as my friend would say “get chicks and kills”. Not going to lie, I barfed a little in my mouth when I wrote that but I just want you to know that I’m on your side. Believe it or not, the night before my 19th birthday I didn’t sleep. I was writing an essay, it took a lot of persuading on my friends’ part to get me to come out and boy did I ever. Let’s just say I drank so much that night that I only remember the first 30 minutes of my outing (I browned out, not as bad as getting blacked out).
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| Boys rolling up to the club |
When I went to my “first” LCBO run ever, I puked when I saw the “beer” sign. Yes, I really did shit the bed when it came to being responsible. As a young adult you should know better right? Wrong. That first taste of independence away from your parents combined with your friends buying you drinks equates to Whiskey Sours and Rum and Cokes calling your name. Now at the time it was bad “what would my mom think?” rang through my head. However, for those who witnessed my debacle, hearing the stories from their point of view the next day was hilarious. That night I even had my buddy Chris take care of me and that’s an important note because that night unbeknownst to me, I tested the mettle of our friendship, a friendship that I still have. Now what lesson could have possibly come from that meltdown? Well the lesson is that you can always say “no” to a drink. Also, even if you are inebriated, security will not be afraid to rough you up, trust me. Now save yourself some pride and tuck in your shirt, you’re embarrassing yourself.
When things don’t go as planned
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| Make up on my blazer |
Every now and then you do get those nights. You know those nights where you feel hype! Maybe you finished that assignment, maybe you’ve listened to some Kanye. As a young male who likes to have fun, I get those nights. One time I had such a good night that I texted a girl that I loved her (under context it makes more sense but we’ll leave context out for the sake of comedic effect). However some nights don’t go as planned. For example have you ever had a girl cry to you on the phone, while another girl cries to you in real life, all while in the men’s washroom? I have and what did I learn that night? When a girl cries and it’s not your fault, treat it as if it was your fault and do everything to make her happy. Also, don’t wear a white shirt/coat/sweater/blazer, her make up and tears will be on your shoulder, this happened to me when a friend of mine “lost” her purse (she left it at home). I’m not going to tell you guys everything because my mom might be reading this but one night I even learned how fast a girl can run in the snow with high heels on. As my friend Devyn says “If they got somewhere to be, you [expletive] know they can” and trust me, they can and proceed to lose their phone on the run too and they’ll expect you to help find it for them. It’s not all bad though, have you ever seen a drunk girl try to open the door, fail to turn the knob and walk headfirst into the door? It’s more amusing than it sounds.
Although there are a lot of nights where you’ll go out that will lead to strange events, due to strange people consuming, strange liquids, there are nights where things get real. Like actually real but like a good real, you know what I’m saying? Those are the nights that you don’t want to end, those are the nights that you expect, but more often that not go above your expectations.
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| Truly humbled |
What if I told you that one of my favourite memories from this past year was the one time I came home from the bar inebriated but ended up talking to a girl in the laundry room of our dorm. What if I told you that I ended up really falling for this girl. What if I told you that this this girl and I ended up dating for the rest of first year. Well sadly, we didn’t date (did I get ya?), she was “seeing” a guy that she ended up dating (I bet I could beat him up though). Heartbreak isn’t the lesson here, I learned that in high school. That night I ended up getting to know a girl that I was absolutely smitten by. A girl so charming, she changed my perception of attraction. Even as I write it’s hard for me. Remember in the introduction where I mentioned the moment where your heart skips a beat? This girl will make your heart jump rope. I promise you that there aren’t words in the English dictionary that can even represent how alluring this woman is, not one word. Regardless of what happened or what was to be, I will always carry that in my heart. I will always carry that feeling of being humbled by a person that you admire and that is something that you don’t learn or feel very often.
In conclusion
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| When the liquor hits ya |
Whether it is the end of the night or the morning after, you’re going to have certain feels about your outings. You’re going to think about how dumb you were or how dumb your friends were but you’re also going to laugh. You’re going to laugh a lot. I find that all the nights out that I dread, all the nights out that don’t go as planned, those nights were never meant to go as planned. There’s no such thing as the perfect plan and there’s no such way to project the perfect night. In fact, as a young adult you will have to understand to go with the flow. Go where life takes you and make the best out of it because it’s not the burden of our misfortunes that condemns us but how we take those moments in stride that define us. So, go out, have a bad time or a good time, come back safe, wake up in the morning, and reminisce. You’re young, you’re going to mess up but these mistakes are ones that you will make sooner or later in your life, and it’s better now than later. Do it for the nights you can remember.
