The most memorable moment in my life would definitely have to be the first time I got drunk at Caroline’s camp in False River with her cousins and friends for the Fourth of July weekend. The weekend first started out slow. Caroline and I were bored and tired most of the evening Friday because of the long drive to False River from White Castle, but we had bigger plans for the next night. I hadn’t planned on being intoxicated for the whole weekend though, but it ended up turning out that way. Caroline and I were buzzed most of the time we were on the water. The only time we were sober on the water was the first morning we spent at the camp. We tanned outside all day Saturday morning. We met new guys while we were tipsy because we knew there was no way we could’ve built up the courage to talk to them without being carefree about what we said. For my first time consuming alcohol, I drank a large amount considering my body couldn’t tolerate the alcohol well. The thrill of being drunk for the first time is what made that weekend the most memorable in my life. Being drunk was a confusing, yet relaxed, feeling. There were many signs that told me I was drunk like impaired vision and the slur of my words. It was all a brand new experience.
On Saturday, my second night at the camp, I took my first taste of beer. I would’ve chosen a mixed drink with liquor, but my only choice was beer. The only liquor that was available was in a cabinet in the kitchen where our parents were. There was no way we were getting caught stealing their liquor, so we just stuck with stealing the beer outside in the ice chest where they would never know we stole alcohol. Caroline and a few of her cousins and I sat outside on one of the piers that were crawling with spiders. At first, I didn’t want to go to the pier because my biggest fear is spiders, but I went anyway. My first thought when I took a sip of the beer was, Ew! It tastes like moldy salt water! But I kept drinking it anyway because of the fact that I was actually drinking alcohol for the first time! The taste didn’t matter to me after the second beer because by then my head was spinning, and I could barely taste anymore. As soon as the buzz kicked in, I wasn’t bothered that there were spiders everywhere anymore. As we went through the beers, we threw the bottles into the river, because we couldn’t just throw them away in the garbage inside the camp. The parents took out the trash, and if they‘d seen the empty beer bottles in the trashcan, we would’ve been grounded. When we came back inside the house to go to sleep, we were lucky to find the parents already sleeping in their beds. If they were awake, they would’ve asked us where we had been and what we were doing. All we had to do now was sneak in, not trip over the rafts or anyone that was sleeping on the floor, and go to sleep.
The next day, Caroline and I started our day off with a big heaping plate of jambalaya and white beans and two cups of Coke and Jose Cuervo Tequila. We didn’t have any Crown to mix with the Coke, so we just stuck with the tequila. We went through those drinks as if it were water. Next, we used the Crystal Light drink that Caroline’s nanny made to our advantage by mixing it with Taaka Vodka. We drank two cups of that, and by mid afternoon, I was drunk. My vision lagged and the room spun. As I talked to Caroline, the pronunciation of my words slurred. Later, we decided to hit up the ice chest outside to see what we could drink, and the only liquor we found was one wine cooler. Caroline split it up into two servings and also mixed Triple Sec liquor in the drink. We downed it in fifteen minutes. Then, we decided to float on rafts around Caroline’s pier with the rest of her relatives and friends. It was hard to get on the raft drunk. The waves from the boats that passed made me lose my grip on the raft, and I couldn’t keep a steady grip on it. Once we both finally got on our rafts, we were exhausted. Shortly after we got used to the waves, the boats on the water started a water balloon fight with everybody floating in the water. I didn’t expect to have balloons thrown in my face, but I went along with it anyway and tried my hardest to throw a balloon back. I nearly fell off my raft trying. Caroline’s uncle offered to pull us on the tube with his boat, so we strapped on life jackets and hopped on the tube even though we were tired and drunk. Trying to hold onto the tube going 45 miles per hour on a moving boat with no energy left in your body isn’t easy, but it was fun to do. Besides riding the tube, we rode the big banana, which is basically a big floating banana you straddle with your legs and try to stay on when it cuts turns and jumps bumpy waves. That was nearly impossible to stay on in my condition. I fell off only five seconds into the ride. After being on the water, Caroline and I decided to tan for the rest of the evening. Since I was exhausted from all the alcohol and excitement, I passed out on the pier and two hours later I woke up, burnt like a piece of toast. My back was the color of a strawberry, but it was all worth it.
Alcohol was my secret to meeting new guys at the camp. Usually, I’m shy and I don’t meet people easily. With alcohol in my system, I’m fearless. Caroline introduced me to her cousin, Hunter. Hunter brought a load of fine guys to the camp, and I was dying to meet them. I met all kinds of new people. We joked with them and had a great time Sunday afternoon, I got the nickname “Destin” because of the shorts I wore that day. I met one of the guys named Drew, and the first thing he noticed was the word “Destin” written on my shorts, so he decided to call me that for the rest of the weekend since he could never remember my name.
From my experience that weekend, I learned that beer is the most disgusting drink I ever tasted. I will never again pick up a beer and drink it. Just the thought of the smell and taste of beer makes me want to puke up my guts. The Fourth of July weekend was the only time I drank it. I will always remember beer as my first drink that ever got me drunk.