Party at Uni
Don’t want to sound like a nerd or anything but today I got invited to the first party ever. The reason why I never went to a real party before is because I had a tendency to decline invitations so nobody would ever invite me again. And I was kind of a bookworm all through high school.
Most of all I prefer to keep to myself all through high school, due to various reasons, and people didn’t get to know me enough to extend an invitation in the first place. But now everything is different since new school, new me.
To be fair, one of the many reasons I wanted to go to university was because I heard a rumour that college parties are legendary. And I wanted to be part of this wonderfully inclusive party culture since part of the college experience is pushing boundaries and discovering new things.
Nevertheless, at this point, it couldn’t be clearer that my university start was nothing like I expected. Due to this virus who is like a weird guest who long overstayed their welcome but just won't leave, the party scene at and around the campus was shut down.
As university life slowly came back to life, so did the social gatherings in and around the university lifestyle. More people are hanging around on campus grounds and just relaxing there instead of wearing a mask and learning. The campus has more activities one can attend during the day. Most importantly, the festivals and theme-based festivities came back.
I, for one, am so excited that everything is slowly returning to normal since most people say that the college experience is going to be one you are going to remember forever. Now I finally gained the feeling that I am not being left out of this valuable college time. Slowly, I am seeing that there is more to uni than just studying all night and writing exams all day.
It was not long before the uni threw its first festival since the start of the pandemic. Frankly, I did not enjoy it as much as I was anticipating because the music was not to my tastes and everything at the festival is overpriced for the fact that it was meant for broke college students.
Then came the party I was not expecting to be invited to. To be honest, it was a spontaneous invitation and a just as spontaneous decision to go. Nevertheless, I cannot say that I regret going to that party despite everything.
Let´s start with the Saturday afternoon where the idea of going to the party was just thrown in my face. That faithful Saturday afternoon, I was at a BBQ party at my friend’s house. It was a small gathering of some sports friends.
Amongst those sports friends was an artist who studied at the art academy. That week, they had a gallery opening for their graduating students to present their final artworks and after that gallery opening, they have a party, which coincidently fell on the Saturday of the BBQ party.
Many agreed at that BBQ get-together, that they would attend the art party after the BBQ because everyone was young at heart. At first, I was reluctant to go when that idea was first brought up because parties are not my thing.
Parties are loud and that alone could spike my anxiety levels but there are also people and a lot of them, which would send my anxiety levels through the roof. It certainly does not help that a lot of those people are drunk. And I don’t want to get into the reasons that pose a problem for me.
However, after a while, I agreed to go. I was not sure if it was thanks to the drinks or the unyielding mentioning of how legendary the artist´s parties are, so I decided to go and find out for myself how legendary the artist´s parties are. Besides I was pushing myself to go outside my comfort zone and what better way to do that than attend a party already slightly alcohol-infused.
All jokes aside, I decided to go to the party to accompany a friend of mine who did not want to use public transportation alone at night. We agreed that they stay with me, so they don´t have to walk the streets alone at night. Their reasoning is understandable and it is the least I could do after letting them host the BBQ.
As mentioned, at the BBQ I already drank a bit since what better way to end a BBQ garden party than to loosen up a bit after letting alcohol take its effects. I can´t say I was the biggest fan of beer but I do love a good drink that either burns down your throat or is fruity sweet. Luckily, people did bring a lot of both, so I was having a blast at the party, at least with the drink selection.
After the BBQ, we all decided to go back home to drop off some items and freshen up a bit. And that is exactly what I did. I freshened up and put everything in the fridge where it belongs, I made my way to the subway since I did not want to take the bike to the city centre. The short answer is that it is just suicide.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the subway station was how inconvenient it is to go out at this time of day. Whether you are on your way back home or your night is just getting started, the busses and subways are not getting you there as easily and quickly in the middle of the night.
I mean, yes, it is understandable why at 11 pm there are not as many busses or subways as in the morning. However, as a functioning part of society, I am used to the frequent departure time of those public transportations and those all-over-the-place arrival intervals of the subway just messed with me.
When I got to the art academy, I could already hear the music pounding even though I was 100 meters away from the scene of the crime. Slowly, I was regretting the decision to go. I know that I don’t do too well with loud music since I am a rather sensitive person.
Then I thought to myself that it was only one night and nothing too bad could happen in that one night. Or in other words, my hearing won´t sustain permanent damage since it was not a constant exposure to loud music which could have impaired my hearing.
My friends eventually did arrive, and we made our way through the halls of the academy. There was music blaring from a room but we decided to go outside since it was like two separate yet not separate parties/party going on at the academy.
Therefore, after scouting the surrounding area a bit we decided to get a drink since what is a party without a drink. There was a bar at the party but there was also a line and a long one, to put it mildly. Let´s just say it took some time to get what we wanted.
There was a variety of drinks and to no one´s surprise, all of them contained alcohol. As mentioned above, I am not the biggest fan of beer so I went for a Spritz Veneziano (or Aperol spritz as I know it) since I wanted to try it out and it was frankly also the only drink I was willing to try.
Much to everyone´s surprise, the drink at the art academy party was incredibly cheap if one should compare it with the average restaurant and bar prices for the same drinks. Part of me, however, is still arguing about if it is a good idea to lower the prices of alcoholic drinks at a party.
From a financial standpoint, it might make sense to lower the prices to encourage consumption and the more drinks sold the more money they make. Since the academy probably bought in bulks, somewhen the drinks will pay for themselves. Yet is it smart to encourage high amounts of consumption in the first place?
Anyhow, with drinks in hand, we returned to the dance floor and listened to the music blaring over the speakers. Occasionally, we would “dance” to the sound of the bass since we were on the dance floor after all but let´s face it, dancing looks different in real life.
As it is customs at parties, everything that needed to be voiced needed to be shouted since otherwise any remarks would be lost in the sea of surrounding sounds. It was hard to both listen and speak during the party because the music was as mentioned bloody loud.
Since we are already on the topic of music, let´s take a moment and talk about the music choice at the party. There is no doubt that artist has a creative way of thinking and their style can be eccentric from time to time.
Nevertheless, I did not expect that artists would like the music that they did play at the party. Throughout the night, the main music genres the party choose are either EDM (electronic dance music) or german rap.
To be perfectly candid, I dislike both genres with every fibre of my being since despite what the name claims one cannot dance to electronic dance music, one can only bop their heads along to the beat of the bass and sadly that is not dancing. The same goes for rap, one cannot dance to it.
Frankly, if all parties and clubs exclusively play EDM or rap all through the night, I can only accept the fact that I will never go to a party ever again. Nevertheless, after a while, the music did not bother me as much as it used to. Funnily, I even found creative ways to “dance” to that music.
A conversation could only be held if one should remove themselves from the dancefloor, which we inadvertently didn´t. We stayed on that dance floor with drinks in hand while we tried to dance to and appreciate the music being played.
When I looked around, I see people having fun and jumping to the beat of the music. Everyone has a different and distinct fashion style but one of my friends pointed out that most of them had an 80s clothing style. Everyone can dress however they like and still fit in perfectly, which is rare these days.
Eventually, we collectively decided to call it a night or morning as it was 1 am. The party went on as we said our goodbyes and good nights/mornings. Then we all went our separate ways so we can all go home and rest.
The subway ride back to my dorm took roughly 30 minutes give or take. Throughout the ride back, I could not gather enough energy to keep a conversation flowing between me and my friend since we were both exhausted by just being at that party.
A sense of relief washed over me as I crossed into my room since I know I will no longer be able to pass out on the street. It was not as if I was drunk or anything but I was under the influence of alcohol, to put it mildly.
After the drinks, I had throughout the night, I felt incredibly relaxed and drowsy despite everything. My speech was slower, and a tad slurred. From a different perspective, one could see that I could not walk straight.
Luckily that was as far as my symptoms of alcohol consumption went since I did not want vomiting and loss of consciousness when I have to get back home all alone in the middle of the night. I mean people will notice if I am not home by lunch the next morning but until they notice it could already be too late and I wouldn’t want to worry anyone.
Since I couldn’t be bothered to take a shower, I brushed my teeth and washed my face before slipping into my pyjamas and falling into bed. My mind did not want to sleep immediately but eventually, I did manage to suspend my consciousness.
The next morning, everything was fine. It did not feel any different than all the other mornings I woke up. Without all the texts, I probably could easily forget that I went to a party in the first place since there were no lasting side effects of that party that I could feel. On that Sunday, I just normally went about my day as if nothing had happened the night before.
All in all, I cannot say that I regret going to that party. I did not lose anything, and I feel perfectly fine, so I have nothing to complain about. It is quite the opposite; I gained an insight into how the artists like to party.
This party also showed me that I don’t have to enjoy the music to have fun at the party. I just need good friends and probably a drink or two to have the time of my life at any party. This party was also a good experience when it came to getting outside of my comfort zones and being more spontaneous.
Therefore, I want to use this article as a reminder to be more spontaneous in life since great things could be missed if one doesn´t go out at all. Getting outside of comfort zones can also be a great way to discover new likes which never would have been found if one stayed in those aforementioned comfort zone.
I know both pieces of advice sound a bit clique and quoted too often on social media but both pieces of advice are great advice and sometimes we have a tendency to forget. Therefore, constant reminders are important and I swear I will forget this party so I needed to document this like the nerd, I am.