Halloweekend: A Guide
Princess Peach and Elastigirl Photo: Lena TsouridesWell, I have officially survived my first college Halloween, or formally “Halloweekend”. This was a blast, but also chaotic, so I figured, what better way to tell the messily exciting story of my first experience, then through a guide of what and what not to do. But, these are just MY experiences and in no way do you have to do things the way I did, or do any of this at all. So, kick-back and relax, and enjoy. Here we go…..
Now, everyone’s Halloweekend differs in length, ranging from two to four days(typically the weekend closest to Halloween, Thursday-Sunday)and within those few days, it is a back and fourth between going out, and recovery. However, one not must forget the weeks or even months before hand in which costumes are planned, as well as the week leading up where you finalize where you will be that weekend and what days, along with who you will be with and what time you will need to be at each place. This is by far the most stressful part of the experience, because you have to take into account how long it will take to get ready, how long pictures will take, whether or not you want to pre-game, and most importantly… how the fuck you’re going to get to each place.
In order to start my story in the most logical, and also most exciting way, I will start with my first day of Halloweekend… Friday October 29, 2021. Lena, my roommate, and I were going as Elastigirl, and Violet from “The Incredibles”. We had been planning this since September, and were QUITE excited to debut our looks. So once ready, we made our way to our besties’ dorm, Julia and Fiona. They had dressed as Princess Peach and Princess Daisy. We had all decided to meet at theirs, do what we needed to do(its college ya know…), take some pictures and then head out to the destination for the night. Now everything before we left was so fun. But once at our destination, a Halloween club in town, we were highly disappointed with our choice. Old men were trying to buy us drinks, and the other guys there our age had to form a ring around us girls, in our somewhat revealing costumes, in order to keep the gross oldies away. After under an hour Lena, Fiona, Julia and I decided to jet. Fiona and I headed to the 24 hour diner near campus with some friends, while Julia and Lena headed to a party across town with some other friends. In no way do I regret going to the diner, because I think in the grand scheme of things that was the best decision for me, but I did not have nearly as much fun as I now know I could have if I had gone to the other party.
The next night was WAY different. On Saturday the 30th, my costume was a sexy spy(hehehe I killed it) Lena was Mia Wallace from “Pulp Fiction”, Fiona was Avril Levine, and and Julia was a cheetah. Lena and I took some pictures again, but this time before leaving for Fiona and Julia’s. Once there, we did what we needed to cause well… college, polished our looks, and then met with one more of our friends who was wearing a maid costume. Our first destination was a party at a house affiliated with a campus organization. EVERYONE was there. All the guys we think are the bees knees, all of our other friends, as well as upper classman, and I am sure, townies. We had a blast. It was my first proper college party, and it was everything you see in the movies. Minus the dancing. No dancing. We were there for an hour or two, and then right before that party ended, we headed over to a popular establishment for our school, and it was PACKED. And not packed in a cutesy, dance party way; packed in an “I cant breathe”, sweaty bodies rubbing together, and random make-outs way. But my God was it fun. We danced till our legs were wobblily, our hair was messed up, and we were dehydrated past the point of being ok LOL.
Now for the advice/things I learned portion:
Don’t call an Uber back to campus outside of an establishment if a cab will be there faster and its cheaper.
Drink more water than you think you will able to handle both before you leave and while out.
NEVER lose sight of your friends. Ever. (buddy system)
Eat before, chances are there will not be food where you’re going
Trust no one that you do not know: cover your drink if you have one, move with caution, and don’ be alone(again… buddy system)
If you feel sick, cut yourself off, and grab a friend. Tell them bathroom, or time to go.
On the topic of bathrooms, go to the bathroom in a group, bring drinks with you if you have them, and all go into the stall together…. cause remember, we don’t trust anyone :)
And finally… Aspirin, bagels, coffee, and water will be your best friends the next day(I don’t feel like I need to elaborate on that hahaha).
I will conclude with this, only do what you want or what you are comfortable with. If going out isn’t for you, then stay in. If going out is for you, then go out. If you need a night off, take it. But remember, have fun. So, whatever your most recent Halloweekend looked like, or the one yet to come will look like, I hope it was/will be amazing.
Have fun. BE SAFE. And most importantly…. Happy (belated) Halloween!
-Miss O
