As a young millennial, I was obsessed with the idea of partying, going out and having a good time. I believed it would be like the movies, in which all my friends would party, have the time of our lives, and pick up many lovers. But that was then and today is now and as a 22-year-old, I've had a lot of experience in the clubbing and bar hopping world. I've made mistakes and made even worse mistakes. The critical objective when going out might seem very small to many people, but it's actually the most crucial objective to pay attention to. Consider this step one as setting up the foundation before building the house. If you have a cracked foundation then your house will come tumbling down in a huge cloud of smoke.
Before you even think about going out, you have to choose the group of people you would die for, dance for, and hold their hair back if they puke. These are the people that you would throw yourself in front of a cop so they could get a clean get away from whatever stupid thing you guys decided to do together. I know this sounds basic but believe me, if you have the right group together with an unbreakable bond, no man, no cop and no bouncer would ever dare to get in between you and your group. This is the most important step to having a great time out on the town because if you get the wrong group together, you're going to have a bad time.
For example, if Samantha and Jill have a semi-hate and love relationship, it's not going to mix well with alcohol. Alcohol brings out the truth in people, truth that is so absurd that even God would be like "WTF confession is this?" So if Samantha and Jill have a semi-hate and love relationship, then alcohol will make them hate each other even more. Who knows, maybe when under the influence of alcohol they decide to hash out that Jill took Samantha's boyfriend back in the fourth grade, or that Jill told the whole school that Samantha had an STD back in ninth grade. Either way, if both members of your group have hash to talk about, it will be brought out during the night.
Don't bring people who do not understand what "Let's have a good time" means. I've made this mistake before, in my desperation to go out and have fun, I brought someone to just keep me company. Let's just say they thought my wild side was the devil side and they thought I needed an exorcism to be cleansed of my evil ways. By evil ways, I mean I just wanted to dance like I was a stripper while my friend was on the side lines clenching their cross and throwing holy water at me on the dance floor in which I believed it was alcohol and danced even harder. I'm not saying to exclude good people from your life, what I am saying is just exclude them from the evils of the night. You become a different person on the dance floor and you need to surround yourself around people who understand your alter ego in the night life. Surround yourself with people who are down to have a good time and of course who do not judge you trying to twerk but failing worse than Miley Cyrus at the MTV Music Awards.
Make sure your friends do not invite their significant others. This is your night with your friends, not their significant others. The problem with inviting your friends with girlfriends and boyfriends is that you're technically inviting their own mothers/fathers. So when you're wanting to go balls to the wall partying, you're constantly having to think if your friend's lover is going to approve. Hey I am not going to lie, some crazy messed up things will happen in the night and you do not need the significant other witnessing what you're about to do. We all know that the significant other is going to be judging hard core of the person they are with and the people they surround themselves with. Your friend's lover is very important, you want them to see you in a good light and not taking your clothes off and dancing on many people half naked screaming "LET'S PARTY!" No one wants to see that, not even your own mother. Look at the friend's lover as a mother/father figure. It puts a strain on the group of what's acceptable and what's not. Let your group's freak flag fly high and not have anyone judge. Keep it simple and drama free. If one of your friend just has to invite their significant other than it looks like you're going to Applebee's drinking cheap beer and talking about adult problems.
Do not under any circumstance bring anyone who has just suffered a break up or even a divorce. If you bring them, just know you are going to set yourself up for a night full of drama and terror that would only be great for the movies. I'm not saying that if anyone who has a break up shouldn't be apart of your group, I am taking about inviting the person who has recently been out of a relationship. The moment you put a couple of drinks in them, just prepare yourself for a Nicholas Sparks novel of how they met and how they ended terribly. Not only will they tell you the stories of ghosts of loves past, they will tell everyone in a five-mile radius of how much they were screwed over. You think that group of guys/girls at the corner with drinks in their hands are cute? Give it one minute and that friend of yours will pretend it's an AA meeting and how they've been without their significant other for a whole four days. That group will be thinking "Why did we think this was a good idea to talk to you" and they'll leave you high and dry.
Then comes the crying. Being drunk brings out your inner depths of your feelings; feelings that should only be expressed to a professional. They will sob about how alone they feel and how they will never find anyone else. So since you're drunk, you're practically having a Dr. Phil moment and giving them this life-changing advice. Only to have a bouncer kick you out because they believe you're actually abusing your friend that just won't stop crying when really you're just wanting to be Dr. Phil. As the night progresses, who knows, you'll be so drunk that you'll even have to take this friend on a drive by the ex's house to see if they're seeing someone else. Then it could possibly progress to you being an accessory to a crime. Who knows, maybe Carrie Underwood was the anthem to beating up the guy's truck. Sure, sounds great in theory until you're sobering up in a jail cell.
Picking a party group can be a hefty task, but when done correctly, you wouldn't mind letting your hair down and becoming something your own mother would gasp and faint over. So get your sexy clothes on and surround yourself with the best of the best because you're ready to have the time of your lives. Stay calm and drink on.
