By: Megan Borella
Loud, bad music with a pounding bass rhythm. Sticky floors and overcrowded rooms. Screaming to hear each other over the music. Maybe a couple locked together in a corner, acting as if they hadn't just met a few hours previously. So, overall, your typical college frat party, one of many thousands across the country will likely attend throughout their university years.
Parties are overwhelming environments for anyone, let alone for those of us who rely solely on auditory input to interpret our surroundings. Imagine being in such a crowded, chaotic, noisy space without being able to trust your eyes. If your ears are your main source of sensory input, and then you enter an area where the music and the voices and the people are all crowded together, you can no longer trust yourself to navigate around effectively without help. I've been to my fair share of parties, and they can be fun for a while, with the right people and on the right night. But I also know that after awhile, they lose their appeal, as all the stimulation eventually gets too much and becomes tiring and frustrating to try to sort through.
I've developed my own strategies for getting the most out of a party. First, you have to understand that it's important to always go with someone you know you can trust to not get too drunk or distracted that they'll forget about you and wander off. In the middle of a frat house, with the sounds of the party completely surrounding me, I just have to trust that my friends are still with me when we aren't in close physical contact. For this reason, I enjoy a party where I can easily make my way outside or to the periphery where all the noise isn't so intense and can be enjoyed at more of a distance. Showing up a little buzzed at the beginning can always be a plus as well. And knowing at least a few of the people hosting the event is always an advantage. They can be helpful with coordinating getting drinks and finding a quieter spot to just chill now and then. I find the most frustrating part of a party is that I am forced to rely on another person to get around, which can be tricky if I feel like heading home before they do. This is precisely why going with the right people is so essential. Once you've been to one of these parties, you've pretty much been to them all, but they're still worth checking out just to have the experience.
Originally Posted: 29 October 2019