On January 20th, Her Campus Western Ontario is hosting a charity bar night at The Bull and Barrell in support of the First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program (FEMAP). We held this event for the first time last year and raised over $1,000 for the cause. After this great success and such a wonderful night, we knew we had to host another bar night and continue supporting this worthy organization.
Let me just start this off by letting you all know that I really hate clubs and bars. I have had very few good experiences going out, and always come home feeling anxious, objectified and defeated. So, naturally, when I heard that the first event I could attend as a HCWO member was a bar night, I was really worried and didn’t think I would—or should—go.
Then I looked into FEMAP, and knew that I needed to be there. It didn’t matter that I only really knew one other girl on the HCWO team, or that I was overwhelmingly anxious; all that mattered was that I had a chance to support a mental health program which could help a lot of people.
What I love about FEMAP is that it focuses on helping older teens and young adults with mood and anxiety symptoms before they become severe and life disrupting. Receiving an early diagnosis and receiving professional help before a disorder takes over your life is essential, because otherwise it doesn’t take long before you feel completely hopeless and alone. What’s more, FEMAP does not require a doctor’s referral in order to accept youth into the program, which bypasses what can be one of the trickiest parts of receiving help.
The day of the event I almost changed my mind. I had just gotten in a terrible fight with my (now ex) boyfriend, and didn’t know how I was supposed to go out and have fun at a bar when all I wanted to do was cry. I started panicking about people not showing up, about not being able to find the bar, about no one talking to me except for the very few people who I knew. After a little convincing, I headed to the pre.
From the second the door opened, I felt instantly welcome. I was approached by so many different women who were excited about my new spot on the HCWO team, and I made a lot of friends that night. I had a chance to talk very openly with so many women whom I had never met, but who I knew supported me. It was an atmosphere which I wasn’t used to; it is rare to walk into a group of new people and have them instantly accept you, even on what started as a bad day.
At the Bull and Barrel, instead of being surrounding by aggressive, handsy guys (aka. my usual bar experience), I found myself amidst a crowd of proud feminists. I had never felt safer, and never danced as freely as I did that night. I drank ~too many~ vodka crans—enough to get me on the bull—and didn’t worry about being taken advantage of because there was this whole team of women who had (and still have) my back.
In all honestly, the event last year was what made me decide to stay involved with Her Campus. It showed me how many other people saw a mental health program as worthy of support, and encouraged me to put myself out there more often. I came out of that night with so many more friends than I could have expected. I was no longer just a HCWO writer. I was part of a team.
If someone had told me then that one night at a bar would change my life in such a monumental way, I never would have believed them. Yet here I am, a year later, as a HCWO executive. Here I am, surrounded by even more talented, passionate, and diverse women. Here I am, getting ready for my second night in support of FEMAP, getting ready for another night that I won’t forget.