“I only have one number left!” I said to my friend excitedly.
“The next number is I 22,” The bingo caller announced.
The room held still as I stood up, “BINGO!”
I was the first bingo winner that night. From all parts of the room, I hear my peers groaning, yelling, and booing me. A fellow student approached me, scanning my bingo card for an error. “All good”, she said. I then had to walk from the back of the auditorium to the front with 300 pairs of eyes staring at me.
When I got to the front, I was told I had to choose my own prize. My head is shaking, and so are my hands. I feel like I can barely see or breathe. There were about seven great options in front of me, a printer, Bruins tickets, headphones, gift cards, a stereo, and much more. Weighing my options, I tried to decide what the first winner would choose. “What is the best prize on this table? What would a winner do?” I thought to myself, hands shaking. It felt like forever, but I finally picked up an envelope from the table. “She chose Bruins tickets everybody!”, yelled the announcer.
As I walked back to my seat, I heard a series of claps, boos, and squeals. I sat at my seat and continued to play the second round.
At Lasell College, bingo is a big deal. Doors open at 7:30, and you bet there is a line spanning across the building by that time. I go into bingo every time thinking the same thing: it would be nice to win but I never will. It’s always someone else, never me. Well this night it was me, and it was scary.
After winning, though, I felt great. Winning has given me more motivation to return to another game later in the semester. I am also more confident. No longer will I go into a bingo game with the attitude that I will never win, because I know it is possible now. I can honestly say that winning bingo added some pep in my step, and changed me for the better.