Mardi Gras was something I had always wanted to go to so this year when I got to go with four of my best friends, you could imagine my excitement. I had built an idea in my head of what Mardi Gras was going to be, and honestly what went down was nothing like what I had imagined.

Friday, after class we all loaded up the car to head down to New Orleans after checking into the hotel that's when the fun began. We all got ready taking our time singing along to our favorite throwbacks making sure our makeup was perfect. After what felt like hours we decided to leave our hotel room and see what all New Orleans has to offer.

When we made it on Bourbon Street we started walking down the street observing the people, atmosphere, and having beads thrown down to us. We walked down Bourbon to realize it was pretty late so we decided to head back to our room.

The next morning we woke up to a full day ahead of us starting with the parades. We gathered on the parade route and once the extravagant floats passed us, we would scream trying to catch the best stuff they had to offer.

When we hit the town that night unfortunately 2 of the girls on the trip lost their phones due to pickpocketers.

I would not trade my girls trip for anything in the world, I had a great experience throughout the trip down to New Orleans and back. I just hate it for the girls who lost their phones, because I know how stressful that experience was for them.

Mardi Gras was so much more than I could have imagined, and the fact that I got to experience it with my best friends makes it so much better. I would like to thank Shelby's dad for making this trip possible, I cannot truly express my gratitude enough.