Drugged Out

For an anonymous junior, a Halloween party resulted in a depression-induced drug haze.

“I was already not feeling great, I’d been [depressed] for about a year at this point, and just progressively getting even worse. I really wanted to go to this party, and I really just wanted to let go for the weekend. But then [my ex] and I were drunk and high, and it freaked me out, and I was super uncomfortable with the situation and just gave up on myself. Nobody would ever accept this from me, but I went to the bathroom and did cocaine. And that really got me going, I was wired. But then, when that wore off, I genuinely couldn’t care less about myself, and I threw everything away that night. So I went back to the bathroom, and I did acid. I made a lot of mistakes that night that I can’t come back from. A lot of people saw me in a different way, and they’ll never be able to unsee that version of me.”

Runaway

After the cops shut down the party he was at, with a few too many drinks in his system, an junior L.C. wandered and got lost.

“Doing the only thing that made sense to me at the time, I got into a complete stranger’s car with no phone, no communication to my friends who are at the old party and I was just gonna see where the wind took me… Once I finally got in this car, we drove around for a bit they said that they were gonna go to a party in Arvada, but since I had no phone and no ride home and I kind of knew the area I was just like ‘yo let me out’…So there I was, sitting in a random neighborhood. After a while I got out onto a main road and I realized I was by my old middle school, so I ran three miles back to the old party to see where my friends were. But on my way there I passed this park and I decided I was just gonna sit there for a bit and think about life…as I’m sitting there about a block away from the party where my friends were and as I’m sitting there, I heard a weird noise. I looked to my left, and about 20 feet away, I saw what looked to be a flare and it was shooting red smoke. None of [the fireworks] hit me thankfully and I didn’t really realize what happened until five seconds later when I looked over to where the party was…And another firework goes off at ground level so I start sprinting over there.”

Rap Battle

Unlike the other stories, sophomore Sela Kahn’s party experience did not involve alcohol or drugs, but rather an impromptu rap battle.

“I went outside looking for my jacket, and I came back in and everyone was like ‘where were you? You missed the rap battle!’ And I was really sad I missed the rap battle so everyone redid their raps and that just meant a lot to me. My rap got lots of applause. I was really happy with myself. It was just fun, everyone had so much energy and everyone was into it. And that’s one of the reasons I like going to parties, it’s a lot less pressure when you’re meeting people because like you already have something in common by being there and it’s a very relaxed social setting…like there’s lot of energy but I think everyone’s guards are a little bit down and it’s a lot easier to like get to know people and like make friends and just be a little more outgoing. Usually I don’t talk to people outside my social circle very much and it’s an opportunity for me to do that without stressing out because there’s so much less pressure.”

Throwing Up

Dressed up and puking was not how senior R.H expected her ‘Halloweekend’ to end.

“I was getting ready for a Halloween party and I was pregaming with my friends. As we’re getting ready, I had around three shots of vodka Tito’s. So I go in already a bit tipsy and bold, and I see a guy I vaguely knew and he has a beer in his hand and so I ask where he got that and he leads me out to the backyard where there was a stash of beer behind a bush. So I start drinking this [hard apple cider], and I’m still talking to this guy and he offers me a Zyn and I’ve never taken a Zyn before. I was not in the right mindset, but also I was like ‘oh people take Zyns all the time at school and I’ve done weed before like this can’t be that bad.’ And so I take it and I finish my beer and as I’m continuing talking to this guy, I start to zone in and out of reality. I was feeling really off-balance and had to sit down on the ground and I threw up. I wasn’t able to stand in heels and [the host mom] asked ‘do you wanna go upstairs and borrow some of my shoes?’ And so I went upstairs and passed out on the floor of her bedroom, then she helped nurse me back and called my mom.”