Passed out, check. Woke up in a hospital, check. Got a catheter, check. Cussed out a nurse, check. Almost got arrested, check.
And I thought my weekend was unproductive.
This weekend was a weekend of firsts for me. First time it was confirmed to my mom that her underage daughter drinks. First time I went home with a hospital bill with the word “intoxicated” on it. First time I don’t remember going to the hospital.
I wasn’t at a frat party. I wasn’t boozing on a boat. I was just sipping mixed drinks with my cousin on campus corner. I’d never done a keg stand, and I hate the taste of beer. I’d never had so much to drink that I can’t remember the night before. I’d never had a drunk hook-up or even a drunk kiss for that matter.
Don’t ask me why Saturday night was different. On Saturday, my cousin Lindsey came to Norman to tailgate for the OU v. Florida State football game. She’s in her late 20s and lives in Dallas. Lindsey Facebook-messaged me and told me she’d be in Norman and asked if I wanted to meet up on game day.
Every home game, my entire group of friends leaves an hour before the gates open to get good seats. Since I didn’t have tickets to Saturday’s game, I was excited to actually have someone to hang out with. My cousin texted me at 11 on Saturday morning and told me to text her when I wanted to meet up at her tailgate. I slept in, showered, surfed the net, and cleaned my room first. When I finally left my apartment, it was 5 p.m. She and her friends had moved to a bar in campus corner and were sitting out on the patio.
Dressed in jeans and a “Beat Florida State” t-shirt, I squeezed by busy servers and drunk fans, making a beeline for the patio. I was worried someone would ask to see my ID, or worse, they wouldn’t even let minors like me in.
I walked onto the patio, feeling anxious. I didn’t know whom Lindsey would be sitting with and what they’d think of me, a college undergrad almost ten years younger than they were. I also had never hung out one-on-one with Lindsey before. I knew she drank, but my mom’s side of the family is very conservative and it felt weird to think about drinking in front of her.
Article comments
1 - Arch Conservative
Not only can't you handle your alcohol but you thought other people would be interested in reading a five page article describing in great detail how you can't handle it? [Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor]
2 - The Caffeine-Free Herbal Infusion Party
Lol. Well, so far she's got two readers who've ommented. Audrey, be careful. Blackout drinking can be a symptom of alcoholism. Not neccessarily so, but it can be.
You might also have a genetic predisposition to it - yes, such things do exist, Arch.
That doesn't excuse you of responsibility, however. In fact, the opposite is true if indeed that is the case.
It might also be that you got completely goat-faced like millions of other young people, and behaved stupidly.
Either way, there are lessons. Alcohol can be a great thing. But if this kind of stuff keeps happening, it wouldn't qualify as that, right? Enjoy it, but be careful ...
Less is more (if you can actually do that)
3 - Arch Conservative
Goat-faced?
Where are you from?
Is goat-faced mid-western slang for drunk?