Frat Parties 101

Hello incoming freshman! Are you ready for college? I know you have so much on your mind right now; making friends, classes, moving in, getting around, and FRAT PARTIES. They are a whole new world of scary adventures. Let me be your older sister in this and give you advice on everything I learned from a year of frat parties.

1. Who to go with

This might sound obvious, just go with your friends, but it can get a little tricky. During the first week of school, go with your hall mates, even if you don't like them very much. If you get an invite to go. Now my advice with this is don't drink if you don't feel comfortable with the people you are with. If you don't trust them to take care of you in the case that anything bad will happen, DO NOT drink. If you trust them, be my guest honey, just be safe. Now once you have a friend group you'll probably go out with them most nights. But let's say a hallmate who you are good friends with invited you to go out with her and some of her friends on a Thursday. Of course, I said yes because who would turn down a chance to go out when I have nothing to do the next day? not me. Well once we got to the frat house they left me for the guys they were all hooking up with and I had to make friends with some random girls because all of the guys were very drunk and I didn't have a girl gang to save me. So just keep in mind when you are going out with people what they are like.

My amazing hall mates

2. What to wear

This is a HUGE dilemma, I know. More than anything I have the don'ts. 1. do not bring a purse. Keep your phone and keys in your pockets. 2. Do not wear shoes you like. I have a pair of white target sneakers that are my frat shoes. Those poor things have been through mud, pee, beer, and who knows what else. The pic to the left is from our last weekend of freshman year. Look at all of our shoes (ewww). This last one is a Do, do wear something you feel confident in. Your dancing will be better and I can guarantee you will have a better time if you feel sexy and amazing. So put on that crop top or bodysuit or shirt that looks SOOO good and rock it, girl!

3. Getting in

Don't worry, it's not like an exclusive club. A group of girls can get in almost every time. I say almost because sometime a frat will have a closed mixer with one sorority and you can't get into that. Also, if you have a boy in your group you might be turned away. The other option is sometimes they have ratios. So every guy needs 3 or 4 girls. They will tell you what their crazy number is. My recommendation is to stay in your girl gang. That way you can party hop easily if it's dead, and it's always fun to have girls hyping you up.

my sorority sisters and I at a darty

4. The juice...

This might be super controversial, but I'm not gonna say never drink the juice. My advice is to be careful. Look at who else is drinking it. If the brothers are drinking it then chances are its safe. If you see them pour it out of the pitcher, again that's a safe bet. If the majority of the people there are drinking it again chances are its safe. For the most part, I have learned that the brothers don't want to deal with anyone so drunk that they are passed out on their lawn or vomiting everywhere, so they aren't going to put six shots in a single cup of juice. I would assume that most are about a standard drink (which is one beer or one shot). As always, be careful, but you don't have to avoid the juice like the plague.

My sister (and amazing friend) and I at a themed mixer

5. Costume parties

Costume parties can get tricky. How full out do you want to go? My only issue with costume parties is that is the party is dead, it's hard to go somewhere else. I like to be an "inspired" look. So for Hawaiian, I would wear a floral shirt or for jungle maybe some animal print that could be worn every other night as well. Now I know I just said that, but sometimes its fun to go all out. If it's at your favorite frat and you are pretty sure you guys are gonna stay, go for it!

6. When to go out vs. staying in

Sometimes you have to make the decision to stay in instead of going out. I think early in the year it is actually very important to go out if you want to. This is a great way to make friends. Once classes start to pick up and you get busier, make a decision. I always tried to go out Friday and Saturday nights because I thought it was fun and it wasn't like I was doing homework at midnight on a Friday. I would make sure if I had a lot of work to go to bed on the earlier side so I could wake up and get stuff done. Thursdays and darties were a different story. If I had anything to do on Friday I would avoid going out on Thursday, but if I wasn't doing much in my classes, I would go for it. On Saturdays, many people would go to day parties (darties) which I personally don't love. They are fun if you have nothing to do that day or the next, but if you want to get anything done with your day dartying is not the best. I love that they are usually outside, and much more low key. Some frats even have live music. I just prefer studying in the day and partying at night.

My hall mates and I after a night out with mandatory pizza

7. Hangovers

I think I have mastered the art of not getting a hangover. DRINK WATER! Drink water before you start drinking, as soon as you get back to your room, and first thing in the morning. Eating is very important. Make sure to eat carbs for dinner so it helps "absorb" everything you are putting in your body. When you get back, eat again. Pizza, mac and cheese, even chips or pretzels. Again anything starchy, but I also love greasy food at this time. Some people don't like to eat greasy food after drinking, so just know your body. I think more than anything that's important. I leave water for future Gracie because I know my body and know I need to drink a ton of water to help me feel better. You will probably have some killer hangovers and honey that's college. Water is the key to survival, I promise!

Disclaimer: I am not encouraging drinking in ANY way. I understand though that it is inevitable in college, and I am trying to help you be safe. Also, the is what I learned at my school which is a medium sized state school in a college town in the mountains. Other schools might be different. One of my friends who goes to a city school down south said his frat rents out bars and no one ever goes to frat houses.

Please be safe, but have fun. College is about having fun and making memories. Be smart in everything you do please. I really hope this helped. Get ready for an amazing year ladies, college is wonderful and frat parties are fun. Enjoy being young :)

xoxo,

Gracie