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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mass Amherst chapter.

So, you’re 21 finally! Your first thought…bars! You’re so over the house party scene and want to try something new. People say how crowded the bars are every single night of the week, and you just can’t wait to put on your party pants and get a taste of your first sip of alcohol (HA – first sip of legal alcohol, that is). But be warned ladies your behavior needs to be slightly modified when entering into the bar scene, since this isn’t your average frat house

1. Hold your bladder. Unfortunately we can no longer shove 7 girls into a tiny bathroom and take turns on the toilet. Also there is no bathtub or sink that you can turn to if you’re desperately going to pee your pants like that second. Waiting in line sucks, especially if you’ve had a couple drinks. I knew a girl once who peed on the bar floor and proceeded to get kicked out. Don’t be that girl…

2. Don’t take a drink from a random guy (even if he’s gorgeous!), unless you know it’s completely safe. You’re obviously not going to deny a free drink, but make sure you see him order your drink and make sure it goes from the hands of the bartender directly into yours.

3. Always have a buddy. Yes, learned in second grade… the buddy system! Still super important. You want a friend you can take shots with, whisper about that hottie whose eyeing you from across the bar, but most importantly, one that will make sure you don’t do anything stupid – and vice versa.

4. Do not dance on the bar, just don’t. It may have been acceptable at frat parties. You practically had guys begging you to show off your dance moves while standing on the pong table. You think you look like this…

… but really you look like this:

Don’t be sloppy, and again avoid being that girl.

5. Don’t be wasted before you even get there. The point of bars is to get a nice buzz on while you’re there. You don’t want to stumble in, blatantly intoxicated and start ordering rounds of shots, while you’re way too deep already. That’s neither attractive nor classy. Wait until you get to the bar then get your drink on.

6. Bring the least amount of money you possibly can, and avoid bringing your debit card. We all know what happens after a couple drinks. We get a little too generous, spend all of our money that we were supposed to be saving for the ride home (or the late night slice of pizza) and wake up in the morning refusing to check our bank account for the fear that the balance is $0.00. Bring a 20 and call it a night, your sober self will thank you in the morning.

Happy bar hopping collegiettes!

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Juliana Casella

U Mass Amherst

Juliana Casella is a Junior at University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is double majoring in Public Health and Psychology. She is currently involved in the Public Health Club as well as Autism Speaks. She plans to study abroad in Prague, Czech Republic in the Spring. Her passions are traveling, coffee and a good novel.
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