I grew up in central Pennsylvania in a small town called Montoursville. If I were hanging out with friends past 11 p.m. and we got bored, the options were limited. The default was usually to go to Sheetz (a gas station chain). If not Sheetz, then we would either walk around the town or go on a drive to nowhere. Opportunities for “side-quests” were few and far between because the area essentially shut down after 11 p.m.
That was my life until this fall when I started at Stevens. Now, if my friends and I get bored past 11 p.m., the options are endless. Take the weekend of November 8, for instance. This weekend, I truly experienced the art of the side-quest.
I enjoy driving, which is unfortunate, as I no longer have a car with me, and driving in this area is a nightmare. Nonetheless, Friday night, I decided I wanted to go on a road trip to visit an old friend at a different college. A few small issues with this plan. One, I didn’t have a car. Two, none of my friends had their cars with them. Three, I had this idea at 7:58 p.m. on a Friday night, and the drive I wanted to make was about four hours. Clearly, the one friend who did have his car did not want to go on a road trip with an ETA at midnight. So the remainder of my Friday night was spent trying to convince anyone to let me borrow their car and researching alternative methods of transportation that wouldn’t drain my bank account. Sadly, my efforts came to nothing, and I fell asleep with the U-Haul website open on my iPad.
The next day, I woke up around noon and met up with the same friends from the previous night. Again, I tried convincing them to go on a road trip. No luck. Eventually, to shut me up, they suggested we go to a jazz club in the city. Realizing this road trip wasn’t in the cards for this weekend, I agreed. After sitting in traffic in midtown for hours, we finally made it to the club. We walk up and the line is almost around the block. Having no other plans for the night, we waited. I filled the time in line by having a great conversation with another college student I met while my friend’s bridal carried a random dude down the street.
The rest of the night was a blur after that. We listened to the performing trio till one in the morning. We start heading back to campus around two. We stop for a bathroom in Hell’s Kitchen around three, where we get separated. After relieving ourselves, we start searching for our car. In the process, we get pizza at this random spot none of us had ever seen before. Finally, by 3:30 a.m., we are back on campus and the night is concluded.
So, what started as a mission to convince my friend to let me drive their car 235 miles ended in a night at a jazz club, a search through Hell’s Kitchen for a bathroom, one bass conversation with a bassist, one order of wasabi octopus, and watching my friend drink 16 glasses of water.
When I was hanging out with friends in Pennsylvania, a side quest meant driving to the Snappy’s (another gas station chain) instead of the Sheetz. Now, there are no limits to what a side quest can have in store.
