No matter where you are in the country, your 21st birthday is an important one. It’s the day when you can finally drink and go to all the bars and clubs that your older friends can’t stay away from on the weekends, but here at good ole Arizona State University, we like to think of these birthdays as your own personal holiday.
What else could you expect from us? Yes, we believe ASU to be excellent for education and prestigious in many areas for furthering our career goals, but we also won’t deny it when you tell us we go to the biggest party school in the nation. Some of us may not like to admit it, but most of us are proud of it. And because of that, these birthdays aren’t just like any day; they’re like Christmas. It takes up an entire month. Granted we switch the carols and cookies for nightclubs and booze.
This is the time where you take your last drink as an "underager," try to sneak into a few more clubs just for the thrill of it, and rage at a frat house a few more times. The night before your 21st is like Christmas Eve, and like Christmas, the night before debatably is better than the actual day. This is the night when all your friends, of every age, come out to celebrate you and essentially try to get you to call it quits before even making it out to Mill. As your friends all bet on exactly how many hours (or minutes) it will take for you to last on the infamous Mill Avenue, you’re spending your last hour (power hour) as a minor taking shots, playing rage cage and snapping pics with everyone in front of your totally TSM, completely unnecessary but totally awesome, giant 21 balloons.
As the night approaches, and you feel like Cinderella anticipating midnight to strike, you realize your life is about to change (yes, it is this dramatic). Although you actually feel anything but like a princess, the attention is all on you and your tiara is on, your shot glass is around your neck, and your sash is all lit up, but your feet have decided to go completely numb from your high heels ,and you can already feel the hangover coming on.
Your intoxicated-but-excited self is ready for this monumental moment, and you tell yourself to push through. It is your day and not making it through this rite of passage, your first time on Mill Avenue is not an option. It’s your time now, and this is what your 21st has in store for you:
1. Get a Long Island at Cue Club.
2. Ride the bull at Moonshine.
3. Take a picture with a bouncer accepting your ID.
4. Get a table/bottle at El Hefe.
5. Get a bucket at C.A.S.A.
6. Turn your wine Wednesday into Vine Wednesday and get some Apple Pie shots.
7. Go to Taco Tuesday at Loco Patron for tacos and margaritas.
8. Take a day to chill at Salut Kitchen Bar for s'mores and a bottle of wine for $20.
9. Head down to Scottsdale on Sunday to R & R for morning mimosas (yes, bottomless).
10. Hit up Zuma and get a Capri Sun pitcher.
11. Go to Gringo and ask for the "managers' special."
12. Check out the different atmosphere at Casey Moore’s.
13. Take a bus to MINT on Wednesday.
14. Listen to the dueling pianos at Low Key.
15. Hit up Devil’s Advocate 2 for 1 Thursdays.
16. Get a few Beeritas at Fuzzy’s and try the Morning Glory Margarita.
17. Get a beer on tap at Blasted Barley.
18. Throw back some sake bombs at RA sushi.
19. Drive through Jerry’s, and buy yourself your own alcohol.
20. Get a Fish Bowl at Top Golf.
21. Postino’s Board and Bottle $20 on Sundays and Mondays after 8 p.m.
And finally, close down Mill, and do it all again.
