The Fall semester is in full swing and there’s one thing everyone tends to overlook when they have a night out on the town, or most likely in the frats: the blackout. No one ever intends to blackout, yet inevitably it has happened to you, your friends, or your roommate. There is nothing worse than waking up the morning after and not remembering how you ended up in a different dorm’s common room and missing your phone. There are three critical steps to avoid the awkward wake-up or to save yourself from taking care of your roommate all night.
The first step to kicking off your night the right way is to actually eat. We all know that some people are going to cut out lunch or dinner before pre-gaming, whether it is to look hotter in that dress or to get drunk faster. Don’t be that person. Eat! Follow your normal routine and make sure you grab dinner, it doesn't matter if it’s Easy-Mac from the microwave or your cafeteria’s usual mystery meat. If your stomach is empty when you decide to go out, even one drink can push you over the edge into blackout territory.
The second step is to know your limits. Realistically, I can’t pretend you’re not going to drink just because you are a first-year or sophomore. I’m not here to enable anyone’s drinking habits or help you get drunk enough that you’re one shot away from crossing the line. These steps are to keep you safe. Knowing your limit is something you shouldn’t be trying to find out at the first concert weekend of the school year. This is something you figure out over time in the safety of your home with friends and family. Just because your friends or the upperclassmen can down a couple shots and keep going doesn’t mean you can. One rule of thumb is to wait an hour between 1.2 oz. of liquor, 4 oz. of wine, or 12 oz. of beer. This rule may seem like you’re the Debbie Downer of the group, but in reality no one cares if you’re not drinking as much as them. That being said, please don’t challenge the 250 lb. football player to a drinking game because that won’t end well for anyone.
The third most important rule is to hydrate! Hydrate does not mean drink a couple of light beers in between shots or chase your liquor with some soda. Hydrate means drinking water before and after you drink anything. Keep a real bottle of water with you and by your bed, or keep filling an unused solo cup with water to drink as the night goes on.
Your body will thank you in the morning when it wakes up after a full night’s sleep with no headaches or missing articles of clothing. These rules aren’t hard to hide if you’re embarrassed, but frankly no one is really going to judge you if you decided to drink a little slower or drink some more water.
