Your 21st birthday should be one of the more memorable nights of your life, for good and bad reasons. Our “21 run” Pinterest boards are filled with fun themes and cute ideas. You have to think, is this board realistic for the moment the clock hits midnight and you’re on the ground cuddling the toilet bowl in your high heels and cute little black dress? –That would be a no! Not to mention the uncertainty comes when you remember that your BFFs are planning the whole party. I mean we want to remember our 21 right? Of course their one and only goal is to make this night one to remember for the rest of your life. On that super uplifting note, here are a few tips to not only prepare you for your 21 run, but to also help you keep your cool when your blacked at the bar. Who wants to be that girl everyone knows as “Miss Barfs-a-lot?
1. Cute isn’t always comfortable
Save the tight mini-dress for the next night because, I promise after all the drinks you’ve taken, I guarantee your body will start to show it. Expect to be bloated, and at some point ground-ridden via a cute princess-esque tumble or an all-out brawl with the toilet and the four shots of tequila from earlier in the night. A skort and bodysuit combo is a great alternative for a night-out outfit. When you’re throwing up the last thing you want to worry about is your goodies appearing on your friends’ Snapchats.
2. Water is your friend
The dreadful W word. On your 21 run you may start asking for water, but those best friends of yours aren’t going to let anything clear near you unless its vodka. If you want to feel anything besides a hangover for the next 2 days you may want to consider drinking water ALL DAY, and no that’s not one water bottle, I’m talking at least a gallon in a half. Far before you go out to the sinful bars. Try filling up a reusable water bottle and carrying around before your big night.
3. Heels are only cute if you can walk in them
Yes girls, we all want to look fly as hell on our first bar crawl, but I promise the night will end the second you start to sway and your ankles start to give out. As sexy as a 4-inch stiletto may be, a thigh high flat boot or cute booties are more than acceptable and can be styled sexier for your 21 run; nobody needs a trip to the ER and an ankle brace.
4. ROMPERS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND
Cute and cozy, who doesn’t like that? You can kill it in a sexy little romper while also keeping it classy in the coverage department. Especially if you want to hit the dance floor and mess it up to your Beyoncé-inspired moves. We all know dancing can get a little rowdy especially if you add a few AMFs on top of that, the last thing we need is a Janet Jackson type of nip-slip.
5. Plan ahead
As much fun as it is to just go with the flow of things, by the end of your night you’re going to want to get home and get home FAST! Planning your transportation home and having your DD on standby is not a bad idea especially if you know your friends are willing tomake sure you have a good night all around.
6. DP (Designated Photographer)
Most people don’t like to be recorded and papparazzied when getting insanely intoxicated, but if you’re anything like me, I was more than hppy to find out how my night went; what I did, where I went, who bought me drinks, etc. Designate one friend to take pics of your one carefree night and make sure they know to get it all! Get the good, the bad, and the ugly because maybe not the next morning, but in a few days (or maybe even years) you will look back and be laughing at your toilet bowl, drunken fall, laying in the street pictures. I promise you will laugh at them!
7. Cab drivers are dicks
If you go to school anywhere like Ellensburg, the cab drivers have 0 sympathy for you and your drunken 21 run. If you know you’re going to drink a solid amount to the point you may regurgitate your dinner, having a friend pick you up is the way to go unless you don’t mind checking your bank account the next morning and be down $100 for that throw up fee.
8. Learn to say No.
If you have a 21 run sash on, you best believe you will have more than enough people buying you shots at the bar. But you walk in and take shots with the first 6 people you see, you will not, I repeat, NOT make it more than 30 minutes in that bar. Miss. Barfs-a-lot will make her debut. Learn to say no to people when they buy you a shot, you will thank me later.
9. Have a bar buddy
Having a buddy anytime youre out is a great idea, but I would advise you have someone that has you in their peripheral at all times throughout your big night. Especially if you got a 21 run sash on.
Remember:
- Anyone can slip anything in your drink when they know you’ve been drinking a lot on your 21 run, so better safe than sorry.
- You need someone to slip the shot to behind you when you don’t need to take anymore
- You will want someone to lean on to help you figure your life out at the end of the night and to get you home safe.
10. YOU DON’T NEED TO PRE-GAME
As someone who has a roommate who isn’t 21, and she couldn’t come to the bars with me, she did as much as possible to get me drunk before I went to the bars. Turns out, that made it so much harder for me when I got to the bars. I promise you DON’T need to drink before getting to the bars. Save your energy and stomach for the drinks at the bars instead of drinking at your house. You have the rest of your life to do that! Use this one night for the bars not your kitchen!