Tuesday: I didn't have my broadcasting class because we were having a work day, so that was awesome because then I was able to both focus on my project and study for my test the next day.
Wednesday: The Giants won the world series! It's been a trend that they have been winning every other year!
Thursday: Our apartment cafe handed out free hot dogs and chips! It was amazing. I also went to our school's favorite Karaoke bar and dressed up as Minnie Mouse and danced the night away! I think my favorite part was the classic 90's/early 2000's songs that they played, such as "Hey Juliet" and "Hit Me Baby One More Time".
Friday: Tonight was Halloween, I dressed up as Mrs. George, otherwise known as the cool mom from Mean Girls. It was fun when people would recognize my costume and laugh. (I'm on the far right). Also...I have another story about Friday night, but you'll have to get to the bottom to read that...
Saturday: Saturday I dressed up as Cruella Deville. I actually got a fantastic response from people regarding my costume! People were like "wow! you're killing it! you look awesome!" My roommate sprayed my hair half black, and I had a dalmatian shawl thing around my shoulders. I went to the bar and talked to some students I don't normally talk to, which can be intimidating, but I've found that a lot of students at my school are really friendly and welcome to conversation. I was able to hang out with friends that I hadn't seen a while as well and so that was nice to do.
Sunday: I was finally able to relax from the party-filled weekend. It was so much fun, and even though I'm a senior in college, it made me SO excited to think of ideas for next year! I definitely want to make a habit of thinking of creative costumes and going all out just because of how fun it is! No matter where I am next year, I'm sure I can find friends to party with.
Can you tell I love Halloween?
But not all good things happen on Halloween...in fact, people tend to be even more riled up than ever.
...So about Friday night...I left my keys under the cushion of a seat at a party I was at, and of course I didn't realize that. So when we went to the bar, I realized that I had completely forgotten not only my ID to get INTO the bar, but my keys to get back to my apartment! What a mess. So as my friends and I started to walk back (because fortunately for me, another friend of mine forgot his ID), someone in a car made a cat-call comment to my friend. Thinking that the people in the car were just at a stop light and were going to drive away, I said something along the lines of, "do not talk to her like that. She is not a display for you to look at" (not the exact words, but you get the point). Little did I know that both my saying something (and my other friend said something as well....a little cruder but yeah...) would cause one of the females in the car to get out. She came up and said "what's going on?", to which I said, "I don't like the way your friend spoke to my friend." And being a female, she said that she completely understood and got back into the car. So we thought it was over. False. The male who made the ORIGINAl cat call comment started to follow my friends and me. He got into my male friend's face, and the female from the car also came back, but this time, she was armed (which I didn't know until later in the night). Fortunately for us, no one was seriously injured (I wasn't touched at all), but my friends got hurt a bit (not going to go into detail), but it definitely could have been worse.
However, this situation really got personal for me because even though they were the ones who started the catcalling, my friend and I were the ones who spoke up. If we hadn't have done that, we probably wouldn't have put ourselves into danger. What gets me the most is that I cannot stand to be silent. But I now understand that speaking up in that situation wouldn't have done a thing; it wouldn't have made the guy go, "oh you're right, I'm sorry for objectifying your friend." There is a time and a place for this conversation, and that was not it. After much contemplation, I do realize that it wasn't totally my fault, I mean, I did the right thing for speaking up, but it was stupid, and I hope to not do it again. It's incredibly frustrating when you want to fight for a voice, but instead you put yourself and others on the line. At this point, I still don't know what I would have done differently except for to stay silent, and that just doesn't sit well with me. I just wish people were more respectful of others and didn't feel an obligation to comment on my female friends' appearance. They should be able to wear whatever they want without getting someone gross to say something or honk their horn.
What frustrates me even more is when some people didn't stand by our side when we told them our story. Like I said, I understand what I did was stupid, but that's all some people said about it. They just said it was stupid. I'd like to think it was more than that, (perhaps brave...) but I'm not sure, maybe it was just idiotic. Some of my friends understood though and supported me because they knew I felt badly about speaking up. They understood that I KNEW that it was dumb, so they didn't need to lecture me or anything. I felt like that was the best support.
I'm not exactly sure how to end this, so I'll just say this. I've learned that sometimes we need to be less impulsive on our actions. Assess the situation. Will speaking up to this person make a difference? Will speaking up to this person probably instigate an altercation? If so, it's not worth it. But there WILL be a time and a place where you can say what you want and make a difference. There will be a time and a place where your argument will matter and have influence.
