My worst weekend ever happened sometimes last year in school , and thinking about it still makes me cringe. My department had organized a picnic and asked everyone to pay a certain amount to cover food and drinks. It wasn’t much, but at that point, I didn’t have any extra money to spare. I decided I wasn’t going to attend. My roommate, who’s also one of my closest friends, was in the same situation, so he didn’t pay either.
That Saturday, I had no intention of leaving the hostel. I wasn’t in the mood, and since I didn’t contribute to the picnic, there was no point in going. But then, my friend came back later in the afternoon and told me they later announced that “You don’t have to pay to be there. You can just hang around.” At first, I brushed it off because I didn’t want any drama or embarrassment.
But as the day passed by, I started feeling a little bit bored from staying in the hostel. To make things worse, some other department were hosting their picnic at the same place but different sides . So my other friends kept hyping it up, saying the picnics would be fun, so I figured, “Why not? I won’t participate in the activities, but I can at least enjoy the vibe and chill with friends.”
When I got to the field, my department had already started theirs. Music was playing through the speakers, people were dancing, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. I stayed on the sidelines, just observing. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself since I hadn’t paid. During that time,i also took some pictures with them.
Then they started handing out drinks and small chops—the drink was a Chapman in disposable cups. I wasn’t even going to ask for one because, well, I knew I didn’t contribute. But my friend somehow managed to get a cup. I was shocked. I asked him, “How did you get that? Didn’t you tell them you didn’t pay?” He just said, he told the person that was sharing it, but they still gave him anyway.”
At first, I found it hard to believe him and i didn't have the intention of going to collect mine. So he asked me to just drink from his cup. I hadn’t even taken a sip when one of the organizers who was in charge of the parties just came towards us and said with the mic, “Who gave Juwon a drink? He didn’t pay for the picnic now.
I tried to explain to him that it was my friend that gave it to me but even hm didn't pay for the picnic as well. To be honest,at that moment, I wished the ground would just open up and swallow me. My heart started racing, and I could feel everyone staring at me. Being called out like that in front of so many people was literally my worst nightmare.
I just dropped the cup and left the place to my hostel. My friend, who was probably just as embarrassed, left with me. We were so pissed off because we felt he didnt do the right thing. He should have said that to us without the mic instead of him trying to rattle us out. I was even too angry at myself for even going in the first place.
That day was horrible. I felt humiliated and promised myself I’d never go to an event like that again if I wasn’t fully prepared. That particular weekend, will forever go down as my worst.