It’s Thursday night, definitely not above 24 degrees outside here in Buffalo, and your girls want to drink, unfortunately for your sake; you know they’re not the only ones. You have a 9:00 am tomorrow and know it isn’t a good idea to go out drinking, but you have a serious case of FOMO and friends who are really good at peer pressure. Against your will, you decide that you are going to go out, but not drink a lot so you can ensure that you’ll make it to your class without the usual hangover that hits you like a bag of bricks and a fat whirlwind of regrets. So this is how your “chill” Thursday night plan plays out:
9:00pm: You start to get ready, keeping in mind that the really cute boy you hooked up with last weekend is going to be at the same party tonight. Although you know you won’t be your outgoing, drunk self, you still want to look your best. Luckily for you, you’re having a great hair day and your make up is coming out fabulously. You’re roommate offers to let you wear one of your favorites shirts that she owns and it fits just right. You are ready for the night.
10:00pm: You get to your girls house where all your other friends are and they’re ready to have a night. Although the talk about how fun the night will be makes you tempted to keep up with their drinking, you still refrain.
10:45pm: It is almost time to go to the party. You still haven’t sipped on anything, but are starting to feel nervous about that cute guy that you are going to see. You don’t want to be awkward, so you let the “little bit” of drinking commence. What are a few shots going to do anyways, right?
11:15pm: You’re feeling a little loose, buzzed, but most importantly just right. Those few shots were perfect to take the edge off. You and your girls travel in a pack to the party.
12:00pm: All your friend are officially smacked with intentions to keep on chugging along and you still have the same beer that you got when you arrived, half full. The party isn’t fun; in fact all you can think about is how dumb everyone else looks because they’re all wasted and you’re borderline sober. You actually kind of enjoy it because it’s funny, but then you realize it’s honestly just uncomfortable. You decide you want to drink a little more to be able to enjoy yourself and somewhat keep up with everyone else.
12:20pm: You feel good. You see the cute guy you like. He’s starting to come over. Crap. You get nervous, slam down that beer and take another few shots quickly before he finally reaches you.
12:30pm: The conversation with the cute guy is going well. He challenges you to see who can shot gun faster. You know you’ll lose because who are you kidding? Girls suck at shot gunning, but he’s too cute. You can’t say no.
1 am: After talking to this guy more and maybe even drinking a little more, it hits you like a bag of bricks. Uh oh. You’re hammered. Drinking only a little bit tonight, huh? So much for that 9:00 am.,maybe you can still try to make it to class. You’re deathly afraid of that hangover at this point, but you can’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game…right?
8:30am: Crap. You stayed out until 3:00 am. Regrets. You just threw up, but it’s time for class. There’s no time to shower, so you throw your hair up in a ponytail. You convince yourself the make up from last night doesn’t look THAT bad and at this point you just throw on a sweatshirt and don’t even bother putting on a bra. Although you’re 99% sure you reek of alcohol, the professor is just going to have to deal. You may look bad, but hey, at least you made it.