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So Much Sun, So Little Sleep!

Posted by on Monday, April 11, 2011 in College Life, Greek Life, Nashville, Student Life, Traditions.

Ethan has already given you an overview of what Frat Formal season is like but I thought I would throw a girls perspective onto the scene also. I absolutely love spring formals! As a senior I have attended my fair share of formals with fraternities from Vanderbilt and also from Wake Forest. In summary, they are a fun filled weekend where you get very little sleep and spend tons of time frolicking out in the (usually) Florida sun.

This past weekend I left for Panama City around midnight on Thursday and returned last night (Sunday) around 9. This was the first year that I had taken a coach bus, usually we have driven, and it definitely has its perks — no one has to deal with staying up all night to drive except for our awesome bus driver and everyone can start the party early together on the way down to the beach. Also, arriving at 10am semi-rested and ready to hit the sand is a great way to start the weekend.

Luckily I am a 5 year old in a 22 year olds body and while others may find it tedious, I enjoy painting a cooler for my date — and also doing many of my roommates and friends coolers too… Apparently I have come to be known as the artistic one in the group who would so much rather paint anyone else’s cooler than do my homework. This might be one of my finest works I did for my roommate’s date our sophomore year:

Gus' Cooler - Sophomore Year

One of my favorite parts of the particular formal that I went on this year is the basketball draft that is held on the beach every Saturday of formal. This particular fraternity has a annual basketball tournament called Big Sky that starts tomorrow, so they draft their teams of 3 on the beach before. As a senior that happens to hang out at this house a lot I was one of the “Big Sky Girls” who held the draft signs while standing on the lovely painted coolers while the boys took turns making their picks and taking a swig of a particular brown liquid after each pick was made. Its fun to see the boys get so excited about the tournament and who is going to be on their team.

On Saturday night we went to a fancy dinner with all of the seniors and their dates before returning to the villas at our hotel for a long night of socializing, games, and late night swimming. Overall it was a great weekend and nice to get away from Vanderbilt for a few days for a little fun in the sun! While I definitely didn’t return home rested, I enjoyed every minute of my trip and will definitely miss the annual quick jaunts to the beach with a huge group of my friends when I leave school!

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