I love meeting new people and going through different experiences. One mantra I live by is that I always have to try something at least once, that way I know if I like or dislike it. I try to make it to as many events as I can, but there are just too few hours in the day to do everything. It can be frustrating at times to try to go to every party or cultural club’s activities, but between residence life, senior design, and every other thing I am responsible for, it is something that I have gotten used to throughout my time here at Stevens.
As some of you longtime residents of Hoboken may know, one tradition, frowned upon by administration and many city employees, is Hoboken St. Paddy’s Day. Entire throngs of people pack PATH trains and busses just to take part in the festivities. As someone who is usually on campus either doing work or at a house on Fraternity Row during the event, I tend to stay away from off-campus revelries. My only experience with the city during St. Paddy’s Day was when I went through Washington Street to take the train to New York for a play. The moment I stepped onto the street I thought I was on a new planet with an atmosphere of 50% oxygen and 50% alcohol vapor.
Recently, one of my colleagues told me about his escapades during a recent St. Paddy’s Day. One year, he was living in an apartment complex notorious for parties. He found out that due to certain people being absent from the building that day, he could do whatever he wanted. So being the innovative person he is, he invited a good number of people to party not inside the building, but on the building. Copious amounts of alcohol were consumed from the break of day until 4 a.m. the next day along with food relevant to alcohol fueled debauchery. He awoke the next day to an unfamiliar sight. Cans of beer, dozens upon dozens of cups of ramen eaten to various degrees, and a box of Fruit Loops were scattered about the roof. He peered over the edge and realized that some of the cans and bottles somehow made their way onto the street below. Truly, this must have been an amazing time.
If you live a busy life, but want to experience as much as possible, it is important to live vicariously through others. It can be very rewarding in some ways. If you surround yourself with other adventurous or exciting people, then you open yourself up to opportunities and events that you may never have encountered before. If my friend had been caught, he probably would not have been able to tell me his story, or at least not without a pane of glass between us. At least if you live vicariously through others, you probably won’t get stuck with community service, jail time, or eviction.
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