As internet video blogger Jenna Marbles once put it, “When you go out at night, you need to make like a mini-marriage with your shoes.” Jenna goes on to describe how no matter how much your feet hurt, if you choose to wear heels out at night, you need to keep them on until you get home. What Jenna does not take into consideration is in college, going out at night can entail over a mile of walking from party to party, especially on a large campus like Cornell. Every girl wants to look cute at a party rocking some stilettos, but trekking uphill through Ithaca weather in five-inch pumps can kill your desire to look cute, let alone dance, once you actually make it to the party.
Walking barefoot is not an acceptable solution, but switching into flats while you’re walking totally is. For this reason, flats are an essential component of what I like to call the “fratpack.”
A ‘fratpack’ with flats in it would’ve been a lot lighter than a girl in heels.
The “fratpack” is a bag full of partying essentials. Throughout my weekend escapades, I’ve developed a list of items that every girl ought to have with them when they go out. Designate one girl in your group to carry the bag, and stash it with your jackets once you arrive at a party so no one has to know you were carrying a cheap bag full of random stuff. Once you start carrying a “fratpack,” you?ll wonder how you ever survived without these items.
1. Flats As previously stated, flats are necessary in any group of girls where someone is wearing heels. At the start of the night everyone may be confident in their footwear, but after a few drinks and a few hills, you?ll be incredibly grateful to slip into something more comfortable. Once you get to your next party, put your heels back on and rage on.
2. Tampons Every girl knows they should carry extra tampons in their purse in case they need one or a friend needs one. However, if you’re not bringing your expensive purse out with you at night, there’s no better place to stash your feminine necessities than in the “fratpack.”
3. Hand Sanitizer How often do you find a frat bathroom with soap in it? Need I say more?
4. Umbrella It’s always a smart idea to check the weather before you go out, but with unpredictable Ithaca weather, having an umbrella is never a bad idea.
5. Phone charger Almost all Verizon phone chargers are the same, as are, obviously, iPhone chargers. Throw in one of each and you’ll avoid the tragedy of a dead phone.
From making sure no one gets left behind to muploading twitpics, I don’t need to explain to you why a dead phone is a disaster. Before my friends and I decided to start carrying a “fratpack,” we would ask someone who lived at the house we were at for a phone charger. This all changed after Kara* had a bad experience. “I didn?t know any of the brothers around me, so I just asked a random one if he had a phone charger in his room. He led me to his room so I could charge my phone, but as soon as we got there he started trying to kiss me. I think he thought I was using my phone as an excuse to be alone with him, but I actually had no interest in him.” The moral of the story is if you have your own charger, you can avoid being alone with creepy guys and leaving your phone with them.
6. Miscellaneous things you don?t want to stuff your pockets with Tissues, your ID, money, bandaids, gum and make up can all be carried in the “fratpack.”
The “fratpack” has your back for all minor party incidents- from blisters to periods to soapless bathrooms. Having these little backups will allow you to actually “keep calm and carry on.”
*Name is changed