I love Furman. I do. During February, however – The Curséd Month – Furman can start to feel, ahem, somewhat small. This is why I fled to the University of Georgia this weekend. Sometimes, you just have to get away.
I have a fair amount of friends at UGA, so I usually visit Athens near the end of each semester. This year, though, my pilgrimage to Athens came early. There were two reasons for this.
The month of February had thoroughly wrecked me, and my friend was hosting a Dungeons and Dragons-themed costume party.
I had heard about the party via a Facebook invite a few weeks prior. I initially RSVP’d “yes” as a joke – I have no car, and thus no way to move from point A to point B – but when I mentioned the party to my Furman buddy, Caroline, she told me that she was game. The day of the party eventually rolled around, and we packed our overnight bags, bought some snacks, and hopped into Caroline’s car.
Let the record show that nothing feels better than fleeing campus on a February afternoon. We had our costumes in the backseat, our music blasting, and our party plans finalized. I even made us a super-extra playlist for the drive. We were headed to Athens: the Ancient City, the City of The Dungeons and Dragons Costume Party. Furman was but a mere speck in the distance, a blip in our periphery. We were treating this Friday like a straight-up national holiday.
When Caroline and I arrived at my friends’ house, the party was in full swing. Our costumes were not top-tier, but they did the trick. I was a phoenix, which seemed vaguely magical and D&D-esque. (I also wanted an excuse to wear a shiny gold leotard.) Caroline, for her part, cycled between her regular clothing and a child-sized Spiderman costume that we picked up at Goodwill for a dollar. (Again, not top-tier, but we never claimed to be experts.)
The party itself was fun, and my friends were delighted that Caroline and I had actually showed up. We danced and bounced around and had a generally good time. I enjoyed all the costumes, too. (One of my UGA friends had actually welded plastic armor to herself. She was clearly not messing around with this party theme.)
We returned to campus the following afternoon. Everything was as we had left it, which was equal parts disappointing and reassuring. There is a certain annoying comfort in the familiar. Even though Furman can drive me insane, I always like to come back. Also, I big-time needed to sleep.
Athens was the ultimate antidote to the February blues. The whole thing took my mind off the dreariness of the month, and reminded me that an actual world exists beyond the parameters of midterms and the DH. At that dumb party, I felt cautiously happy. And honestly: at the end of the day, that is all I can ask for.