Sunday, July 27, 2008

failure to kiss ass

so, what's the deal with the title? this is a contest being run the university! people are going to read this. your dumb title is not only going to reflect poorly on you, but potentially reflect poorly on the school. i thought you wanted to at least stand a chance at winning this thing! seriously, what the hell are you thinking?!

valid concerns. point taken. allow me to clarify.

it was last year that the wonderful jon jefkins declared me nipissing's 'wastecase superstar', and while perhaps this isn't a title that should be embraced, i kind of liked the sound of it. mostly because 1) i knew it was true, and 2) the notoriety i have found at nipissing sort of makes me shake my head a little.

you didn't know me before i came here. nobody really did. in fact, i probably barely knew myself. i studied hard, had few friends and didn't really party. the only times i really drank were usually more self-destructive than anything else. so, how does a kind of weird, very shy girl from a small town find herself in the position of a premier party animal? you're guess is as good as mine. but it certainly didn't take long.

the things that left me feeling alienated in high school were embraced here and within hours of arriving, people were already talking about the girl with the pink hair and the pink mini-fridge to match. through nso, frosh week and one amazing room mate, i found myself more comfortable here than i had ever been before. although i initially found myself abstaining from the party scene, i knew it just wasn't going to last.

about a month in, the 'first university weekend' [as we affectionately call it] took my friends and i by storm and was the beginning of what would ultimately become our legacy. sarah kissed more boys than she would care to recollect, i was kissed despite still being in my relationship with lance, kathryn hooked up with travis and sean’s relationship with teena really started to fall apart. we accredit these disasters [and blessings] to a vile, yet wondrous drink known as tornados- a concoction of beer, vodka and mike's hard lemonade. the rest is history.

right away, i took opportunities to get involved through frosh week and various other functions, and it seemed the more i did, the more people i met, and the more people i met, the more opportunities i had to party. when i was finally of age second year, the bar became my second home. tequila tuesdays at the wall, wing night wednesday's at the moose, open mic night thursday's at fionn's, house parties on friday and wall theme night's on saturdays. through novelties such as 'the pitcher' and 'the kegger', i learned to appreciate beer as well as liquor, and drank plenty of both.

i've given myself a concussion. i've thrown up on a stranger. i dance terribly. i become a loud, close talker. i've passed out on bathroom floors. i've taken my pants off at the bar. i love hugs. i'm rarely angry. i drink liquor straight. i black out religiously. i have been kicked out of the wall more than anyone else in the bar's history [coincidentally, i also work there].

so, if you were having so much 'fun', what changed? why are you the former wastecase superstar?

ahhh, well young jedi, being a ridiculously over the top drunk is not only expensive, it is hard on the body. these days, hangovers last for days after i drink and half the time i can't remember my night anyway. it's just not worth it anymore. there are other priorities. i like to sit in and read. i like to have money to travel. i value good conversation. board games are pretty damn fun.

...it's just not the same, okay?! north bay is a small town and the scene gets old. being a 'superstar' wasn't really about the booze. it was about good times with great friends...and i still have those. don't get me wrong, i still party and from time to time, i still cause a scene. while i'm more than willing to pass on the torch to an up and coming generation of classy ladies, i'm not quite ready to fall into obscurity yet.

so, basically, what you're saying is...you're proud of the fact that you used to be a raging drunk and you still spend too much money on alcohol rather than focusing on your studies and your future? i'm pretty sure you're still not winning over nipissing.

no. what i'm saying is that nipissing gave me the opportunity to unleash a person that i didn't even know existed. i went from one extreme to the other, and going into my fifth year, have settled into the person i am today. this is a person who is well educated, self assured and no longer a complete social retard. a person who not only understands the importance of balance, but has mastered the ability to work had/play hard. in a recent job interview [at a bar, of course], i was asked what my proudest accomplishment was...and until that moment, i didn't even realize that i had a proudest accomplishment. but i do. my proudest accomplishment is that through nipissing and the party scene, i was able to gain the confidence to break out of my shell, and get involved both in my school and community. and THAT is something that nipissing should be proud of.

my title might fail to kiss ass, as will most of my entries undoubtedly, but i felt that if i was choosing such a strong title, it was important to share a little background info regarding who i am and where i came from. perhaps i'm seeking a little credibility, seeing as how i feel that one of the strongest aspects of my writings is my ability to be completely real, through the good and the bad. inevitably i suppose you will be the judges of that.

2 comments:

name said...

"through nso, frosh week and one amazing room mate, i found myself more comfortable here than i had ever been before"

Me too.

i think the drinking that goes on is an integral part of every student's life... if you're not causing a ruckus, you saw it or heard about it and are talking about it... names get passed around, fingers get pointed "hey that's the person who la la la.." all because of some drinking get together!

does the tornado taste as bad as it sound?

athena said...

well, i'm glad you 'get it'. my somewhat warped sense of humour, is often easily misinterpreted.

tornado's taste MUCH better than they sound surprisingly enough. they're actually almost refreshing on a hot summer day.