Week 12, Theme 3

Prompt: Now choose another memory to work with, this one from some time in the past year. You might choose a memory of some particularly pleasurable or painful event. Or you might choose a memory that is powerful for you, but you are as yet unsure why. In any case, let your writing about this memory be an act of reconstruction, detection, recreation. Think about how and why you remember this memory in the particular way that you do. Pay attention, as always, to the choices you are making as a writer. What sort of diction do you need to represent this memory? What rhythm of sentences? How will you define your point of view, and what does your way of handling it imply?

It’s just a little birthday pregame.

I’m doing a joint one with Manolis and Nina. It’ll throw some of the spotlight and the pressure off of me. Birthdays are always so stressful. Freshman year: what a disaster. No one had fun at the party. True, I’d been here for only a month and no one really knew each other that well, but it should have been fun. Sophomore year? A boring little cake party on a Sunday. I’d told Rene to get red velvet cake. He got chocolate. People were bored.

But this one? This will hit the sweet spot. It’s not a party in the traditional sense so people won’t feel obligated to stay and no one will count how many people come (how many people will come?) but they can still drink so maybe they will have fun. On the fifth try I get my tie right it’s a skinny black silk one. It shows that this thing matters for me, but it’s not formal. Good.

I’m there two minutes early. Oh god. I hope no one comes. The Greeks try to get me to drink some Uzo but its licorice stench makes me woozy. Carina comes soon, but so does Grant. Great: awkward mixing of my myriad friend groups that would never talk to each other for any other reason – commence!

A few other people stray in. High school friends Heeseung and Kevin come in, of course they do, they’ve always been on time to each of my parties it’s because Buffalo produces good people I see Carina and Grant bonding over the smell of the Uzo Tyler finally gets there some roommate he is and tells me he’s fighting with Alf Great even my friends who normally like each other are awkwardly forced together by my birthdaypregamedisaster.

Fastforwardthirtyminutes. Hey, there’s sort of a lot of people here. They’re talking and a little drunk and so am I. Fun! I stop worrying. They start singing Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday dear Patrick. Tyler and Alf bring in a cake. It’s red velvet.