Meet the Girls
Judy Tootie and Early Bird are two roommates in Pasquerilla East Hall. They are both juniors and participate regularly in on campus partying. The two girls agreed to journal their experiences after a night of on campus partying.
Judy (left) and Early
"First I take a shower and then start getting ready. This requires putting on makeup and doing my hair. Then I usually make a mixed drink with a few shots in it to drink while I finish up getting ready. I do this so I can start to get a buzz before the night begins so once I get to the party I’m already feeling the alcohol. It’s nice to do this because if you show up somewhere and everyone is already drunk then you feel more comfortable. Also, I feel bad drinking other people’s alcohol so I try to drink some of mine before I leave so I don’t need as much of theirs in order to feel it. I usually watch TV while doing all of this. After I’m done doing my makeup and hair, I pick out what to wear. When deciding what to wear I usually pick based on the plans of the night. If I am just hanging out in a friend’s room I will most likely wear a shirt and jeans. This is because I don’t feel like I need to impress anyone and I don’t like to be overdressed. Also, I would rather be comfortable because I will probably just be sitting on chairs or couches most of the night. If we are going to a party on campus I will mostly likely wear a dress or skirt with flat shoes. This is because I feel like I need to look a little nicer when I am seeing people I don’t see as often or when I meet new people. It makes me feel more comfortable if I am dressed up when I go out to a larger party. If I am going to a bar or somewhere out I will wear a skirt or dress, and occasionally high-heeled shoes. This is because so many girls get very dressed up at bars and clubs and I don’t want to be underdressed. Also, it’s fun to get all dressed up every once in a while. I don’t feel too much of a need to impress other people when we go to bars because I already have a boyfriend. When all of this is done, depending on how much time I have before I have to be somewhere, I will make another drink and hang out with my roommate. I generally like to have two drinks before heading out somewhere so I have a sufficient buzz and won’t have to drink too much anywhere we go. This is especially true if we are going out to a bar or somewhere you have to pay for drinks because they are so much more expensive than the liquor we have in our room. Generally the pre gaming we do before going out is just girls in our dorm. This is mostly for convenience because we are all so close.
When we are ready to go, sometimes I take a water bottle with a mixed drink in it to drink at my friend’s house/room or on the way if we’re going to a bar. Like I said earlier, we mainly do this if we would rather not buy alcohol off campus or if where we are going there is no alcohol available. If it’s cold outside I usually like to be a little more drunk so I don’t freeze walking around Notre Dame.
Once we get the party, friend’s room, or bar I get a drink. This is just to keep the buzz that I got from pre gaming up. If everyone we are meeting is already really drunk, that makes me want to catch up with them faster. I think this is because it is uncomfortable to be sober around a lot of drunk people because they are so loud and uninhibited and I feel more awkward. If we are someplace where everyone is dancing I tend to drink more because I hate to dance and it makes it more bearable and it helps me to be less self-conscious. Although, I don’t mind as much now that I have my boyfriend to dance with because I don’t get embarrassed in front of him, but when I used to dance with other boys I would be more self conscious. Usually I try to keep drinking the same thing I started drinking in my room, or sometimes I will switch to beer. This is in order to not get too drunk or sick.
At Notre Dame boy-girl interactions are often strained. At parties, I notice that in the beginning the boys and girls sometimes keep more to themselves until people have a few drinks. I think this is because they are self-conscious and do not know how to act in a social setting with each other as well as other people do. Once people start to loosen up, however, the relationships seem much more open and friendly. I don’t usually go out with the intention of meeting many new guys because of my boyfriend, but I am always open to talking to them and making new friends of either sex. Sometimes I think boys at a larger party or bar think that if you want to talk to them for an extended period of time you are interested, which is not the case for me.
Sometime around 2 or 3am I start getting pretty tired and decide to leave wherever I am. Of course, if the party is really fun I will stay later because I don’t notice how tired I am since it’s a good time, but usually I’ve had a tough week at school without much sleep and I try not to stay up too late. If I’m at a bar or anywhere off-campus I like to get a cab home. I do not like walking because of the stories I have heard about muggings. If I’m on campus I feel extremely comfortable walking back, and often do so by myself when others don’t want to leave with me.
Once I get home I usually drink at least one or two glasses of water before bed and depending on how drunk I am I take an Advil. Then, I wash my face and brush my teeth, get changed, and go to sleep."
~Judy
When we are ready to go, sometimes I take a water bottle with a mixed drink in it to drink at my friend’s house/room or on the way if we’re going to a bar. Like I said earlier, we mainly do this if we would rather not buy alcohol off campus or if where we are going there is no alcohol available. If it’s cold outside I usually like to be a little more drunk so I don’t freeze walking around Notre Dame.
Once we get the party, friend’s room, or bar I get a drink. This is just to keep the buzz that I got from pre gaming up. If everyone we are meeting is already really drunk, that makes me want to catch up with them faster. I think this is because it is uncomfortable to be sober around a lot of drunk people because they are so loud and uninhibited and I feel more awkward. If we are someplace where everyone is dancing I tend to drink more because I hate to dance and it makes it more bearable and it helps me to be less self-conscious. Although, I don’t mind as much now that I have my boyfriend to dance with because I don’t get embarrassed in front of him, but when I used to dance with other boys I would be more self conscious. Usually I try to keep drinking the same thing I started drinking in my room, or sometimes I will switch to beer. This is in order to not get too drunk or sick.
At Notre Dame boy-girl interactions are often strained. At parties, I notice that in the beginning the boys and girls sometimes keep more to themselves until people have a few drinks. I think this is because they are self-conscious and do not know how to act in a social setting with each other as well as other people do. Once people start to loosen up, however, the relationships seem much more open and friendly. I don’t usually go out with the intention of meeting many new guys because of my boyfriend, but I am always open to talking to them and making new friends of either sex. Sometimes I think boys at a larger party or bar think that if you want to talk to them for an extended period of time you are interested, which is not the case for me.
Sometime around 2 or 3am I start getting pretty tired and decide to leave wherever I am. Of course, if the party is really fun I will stay later because I don’t notice how tired I am since it’s a good time, but usually I’ve had a tough week at school without much sleep and I try not to stay up too late. If I’m at a bar or anywhere off-campus I like to get a cab home. I do not like walking because of the stories I have heard about muggings. If I’m on campus I feel extremely comfortable walking back, and often do so by myself when others don’t want to leave with me.
Once I get home I usually drink at least one or two glasses of water before bed and depending on how drunk I am I take an Advil. Then, I wash my face and brush my teeth, get changed, and go to sleep."
~Judy
Early played a drinking game called 'Kings', a popular college drinking game.
"The Saturday night started with me getting ready and pregaming by myself in my dorm room. I got dressed up a little more than my usual class look because I wanted to look nicer than usual. It had also been a week full of hard work and I hadn't been able to dress up in awhile. I also started pregaming because I didn't want to be sober when we got to the bars because it would be less expensive and I would have a nice buzz earlier in the night. My roommate couldn't go out that night so I was on my own until I met up with my friend in her friend's dorm. When I got there, they offered me a couple more shots to continue the pregaming.
After that, we headed from the girl's dorm over to a guy friend's dorm where we talked for a little bit and then started a game of kings. I had never met the boys before, but they met us at the door and I was introduced to each one. I immediately noticed their laid back and humorous vibe and felt comfortable with this new group of people. While we were in the dorm room, I didn't have too much interaction with the boys until we had to rearrange some seating mid-way through the game. After some of the boys came to sit by me, we joked around during the game of kings and were able to break the ice. There were also some St. Mary's girls who showed up after a little while. Although they never really said that they were from St. Mary's, it was immediately evident to me that they had a different vibe about themselves and I eventually figured out that they weren't students at Notre Dame. The vibe was made up of something a little overeager and bubbly. I only ended up introducing myself to a few of the St. Mary's girls who were sitting near me. It didn't seem like the boys were flirting with any of the girls there that night and it was a fun, relaxed atmosphere.
The game of kings ended up going for a long time and we didn't leave the dorm until around 1 am. I was disappointed that we were heading to the bars so late. At this point, I realized that it wouldn't be a good idea for me to go out to the bars that night because I had to be up early the next morning for a meeting. My friends wanted me to still go out with them but I decided that calling it a night was the best choice for me. I decided to head back to the dorm and talked to my long distance boyfriend on the phone on the walk home. When I got home, I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and went to sleep!"
~Early Bird
After that, we headed from the girl's dorm over to a guy friend's dorm where we talked for a little bit and then started a game of kings. I had never met the boys before, but they met us at the door and I was introduced to each one. I immediately noticed their laid back and humorous vibe and felt comfortable with this new group of people. While we were in the dorm room, I didn't have too much interaction with the boys until we had to rearrange some seating mid-way through the game. After some of the boys came to sit by me, we joked around during the game of kings and were able to break the ice. There were also some St. Mary's girls who showed up after a little while. Although they never really said that they were from St. Mary's, it was immediately evident to me that they had a different vibe about themselves and I eventually figured out that they weren't students at Notre Dame. The vibe was made up of something a little overeager and bubbly. I only ended up introducing myself to a few of the St. Mary's girls who were sitting near me. It didn't seem like the boys were flirting with any of the girls there that night and it was a fun, relaxed atmosphere.
The game of kings ended up going for a long time and we didn't leave the dorm until around 1 am. I was disappointed that we were heading to the bars so late. At this point, I realized that it wouldn't be a good idea for me to go out to the bars that night because I had to be up early the next morning for a meeting. My friends wanted me to still go out with them but I decided that calling it a night was the best choice for me. I decided to head back to the dorm and talked to my long distance boyfriend on the phone on the walk home. When I got home, I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and went to sleep!"
~Early Bird
