Hangovers. A considerable portion of students here in Gainesville get them, and those who do are intimately familiar with what they entail: the premature awakenings brought about by intense thirst at 7 a.m., the searing pain in the left hemisphere of your brain and the lingering pangs of regret that bob around in your head as you shower off the sweat from the night before.
For those who are discovering the joys of alcohol for the first time in college, the idea of a hangover — or worse, blacking out — can be a romantic one. After all, what is a hangover if not an indicator of a fun-filled evening of youthful hedonism?
This is an easy, and unfortunate, trap to fall into. Being a new sensation, one’s initial hangovers are often dramatic and full of empty promises; you’ll say things like, "Wow, I’ll never do THAT again!" before spitting up into your hand at Bagels & Noodles, embarrassing yourself and your equally hungover friends.
You might find yourself swearing off certain drinks, proclaiming, "Tito’s? More like BOZO’s!"
We’ve all been there: Claiming you’ll change your ways whilst in the throes of a hangover is a classic rookie mistake that we all need to go through in order to become a more honest individual.
Much like saying tomorrow is the day you’ll finally start working out, or that starting tonight you’re going to make it a point to call your grandmother more often, saying you’ll alter your behavior while still reeling from the effects of alcohol is a "Pollyanna" ideal at best and self-deceiving at worst.
Many of us in the Alligator office are upperclassmen. Outside of genuinely dangerous and self-destructive behavior, not much surprises us at this point in our college careers — with regards to drunken debauchery.
This is because experience comes with age. Once you’ve been in college for a few years, the desire to impress your friends by doing a keg stand for 15 seconds fades away. You come to learn that whether you drink half a bottle of Barefoot or the entire thing, you’re probably going to have the same amount of fun.
Deciding against chugging the bottle comes with the added bonus of not feeling like a higher deity is unjustly punishing you the next morning.
When enjoyed safely, alcohol can be a blast. With that said, don’t feel pressured to "go hard" and certainly don’t lie to yourself while feeling crappy the next morning; the commitment to drinking less is one that has to be made in a totally sober state of mind. What may seem like a good idea in the wee hours (read: scores of Peppermint Schnapps and Irish car bombs) can often negatively affect one’s performance during the daytime when we have an assortment of tasks to accomplish and places to be.
Most juniors and seniors had to learn this the hard way; it is our hope that through our words of wisdom, impressionable freshmen and sophomores will think much harder before partaking in the Devil’s water.
