So whether or not you’ve been to parties, throughout the years we’ve all seen or heard about the stereotypical “party girl”: the one who dances on tables, takes too many shots, flirts too much, drinks too little water, and yells way louder than is socially acceptable. This girl does in fact exist in real life. I have befriended this girl, helped her to the bathroom, caught her when she collapsed, and gotten her some water when all she had to drink that night was vodka. In return I have gotten slobbery kisses on the cheek, slurred proclamations of love, beer spilled on my new velvet dress, and the honor of holding her up when she decided her weight was too much for her to carry.

There is at least one of these girls at every party you go to — depending on how “good” the party is (i.e. amount of alcohol, cool people, cool music etc. ). These girls are normal people who just have an easier time letting loose than others, and that’s okay. However, girls like this are usually targeted by not-so-savory people who plan to take advantage of them. That being said, if you see this, please intervene. Terrible things happen when people know something bad is happening but do nothing to stop it.

This is the very reason I seek out these girls and keep tabs on them all night, especially if they came alone. I believe that the first and truest rule of partying is to attend parties with someone you know and trust.

Be wise and go with someone who has your back and will make sure your safety is the number one priority.  Whether it’s your best friend or your significant other, pick someone you know will look out for you and who you — in return — will look after. If Sober You made a firm decision early on in the night but Drunk You wants to throw caution to the wind, you need to make sure your buddy will step in and ensure that Sober You isn’t going to regret anything later. For example, if Sober You said that she doesn’t want to hookup with anyone tonight, then a true friend is going to hold you to that. This is especially true if the potential hookup is someone Sober You wouldn’t find appealing, such as an ex or someone trying to take advantage of you. This give and take with protective friendship is key to party safety. Also, it’s important to remember to not think about all of this as “baby-sitting,” but rather as keeping someone you care about safe.

This leads me to point two. When planning to go out, think ahead of time about your boundaries. Do you want to hook up tonight? Do you want to just have a couple of drinks and hang out with your friends? Do you want to drink at all? Do you want to be the designated driver (someone’s got to do it)? Why are you drinking? Are you sad? Lonely? These are all factors you should look into before you get to the bar/party. For instance, if you try to party while sad, I promise it’s just going to end badly. You might end up doing things you wouldn’t do otherwise, and from there it’s easy to spiral into a cycle of poor decisions and regret. That being said, if you’re feeling down, take some time for yourself. Spend time with a friend who makes you feel better, or spend some time by yourself watching movies, reading, crafting, interneting, or whatever calms you down. The point is to take care of yourself.

These boundaries exist to help you enjoy your night to the fullest extent, so make them and FOLLOW them. If you’re going to hook up with someone, you need to be safe and smart about the whole situation: Make sure you aren’t in too secluded an area, keep your friends close, always establish an easily accessible exit, and avoid closed doors and dark back rooms. If you guys do decide to take things further, TELL SOMEONE. Always let someone know where you are going to be, especially if you don’t know the person you are hooking up with.

Being smart is one of the best ways to be safe. Be smart about what you’re going to drink. NEVER take food or drink from someone you don’t know. Ever. This really should just be common sense when sober, but do yourself a favor and commit this to memory so that Drunk You will remember and abide by it.

Now, when it comes to alcohol, my personal opinion is to just wait until you’re legal. I never understood the rush to drink, but then again I wasn’t part of the “cool” crowd in high school. Just be legal is all I’m trying to say. Drinking leads to becoming tipsy, and tipsy leads to being drunk, and being drunk often leads to not so good decisions that can be hard to get out of if underage. So with this in mind, just be watchful of how much you are drinking and how inebriated you want to be. Know your limit and try to stick to it if you don’t want to become intimately acquainted with a toilet that evening or if you don’t want to deal with a hangover the next morning.  Also, protip: Don’t mix drinks. It just makes your night less fun.

Now, I’ve never partied with drugs, and I don’t condone it, but it’s important to be aware just the same:

• You need to know what you’re taking. Get the person to tell you the actual name, and not just the street name. Make sure your friend knows, too. This is a very important precaution to take because you could potentially have a bad reaction to whatever drug it is, and the paramedics need to know whatever is in your system in order to help you. If they don’t know what you’ve taken, or you tell them the wrong name, the chances of them being able to help you drop. The paramedics aren’t there to get you in trouble; they are there to save your life. If you lie to the paramedics about an illegal substance to avoid punishment, you could end up seriously hurting yourself.
• Take only one type. Like alcohol, it’s a bad idea to mix narcotics, especially if you don’t have a clue what you’re taking.
• Only take them with people you trust. Historically, bad things happen to people who do drugs with strangers, so be safe and grab a friend, if only to make sure that someone knows where you are and what you’re doing.

Like I said, I don’t condone partying with drugs, but I know people are going to do it /are doing it anyway, so all I can do is tell you how to be safe and smart about it.

So, if you are the “party girl” I described earlier, great! Take care of yourself, girl! Be smart, be safe, and protect yourself by surrounding yourself with people who will keep an eye out for you while you party to your heart’s content. And if you aren’t the party girl, then befriend her! She’s fun, wild, and will get you to do things you never thought you would have the guts to do (but in a good way)!

Look out for your fellow party girls, and just have a good time!