By Ching Yuen, staff writer
A few weeks ago, the ASB advertised “Cupid Night Club” everywhere at the school. They had posters on every floor; they updated their Instagram post telling people to go; they even had the event publicized on G-House broadcast for a few weeks. Their desperate operation to convince Galileo students to attend was testing my resolve day by day, and it was really annoying. After two weeks of resisting their advertisement, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I bought the ticket at the ASB store to give it a shot and see what the hype is.
To be honest, I had never attended something like this before or social events in general. A dance? Forget it. I am staying home. However, opportunities like this come and go, especially when I am a senior. In addition, I just wanted to see and learn what people do at dances. Therefore, on Saturday night February 18, 2023, I went to “Cupid Night Club” at the Hibernia on 1 Jones St.
Upon arriving at the Hibernia at 6:45, I checked in with the front desk which consisted of a group of students and parents. After this procedure was finished, I entered the main room. To my surprise, the Hibernia is absolutely gigantic. Despite its size, there were only four tables with seats and a few standing tables which made the space feel very empty. I sat down with a group of guys that I didn’t know and waited for the party to start.
The overall design of the main room is very antique and old fashioned. The Hibernia was built in 1892 and it was originally a bank. The place’s history is extremely obvious as a bank vault is located behind the server’s table in plain view. Turning the corner, there were fruits, cookies, chocolate and chips. I was a little disappointed by the food selection because there wasn’t anything fulfilling. Regardless, I grabbed two cookies and got a fruit punch from the server and took a seat.
While watching from my chair, I spotted the cross country group. I went with my guys and stood there while watching other people enjoying themselves. Honestly, things start to get boring for me after that point. (Lesson learned: never go to another dance without other people.) For the next half an hour, I paced around the dance floor and got tired and stood around. One thing I observed is that the music was very loud so people couldn’t hear me unless I was really close to them. The loneliness and isolation started to kick in so I went to the photo booth.
The line at the photo booth vanished as people were gathering at the dance floor. After taking a few selfies, I was left pondering on what to do. Close by, the karaoke room was crowded with people. I entered the room and saw people singing around a projector on Spotify. The room was small but the amount of people packed inside gives the illusion of a marching band inside. I didn’t find karaoke very entertaining besides occasionally horribly sung high notes and left the room within ten minutes.
Just as I thought they would close down the party at 10 pm, the DJ put on “Party in the USA” at the end and reinvigorated the whole crowd. While I watched in amusement at how much energy some young people have emotionally. The whole floor was shaking because of the number of people jumping. The final dance was a whole calve workout to the best of my description. At last, the song ended with its final chorus. The mood lighting was switched off and the main hall was lit up with bright lights again to signal the end of the dance. People gathered with their best buddies to share their feelings about the dance. At last, goodbyes were exchanged. People began to disperse and most people seemed to leave the place happier than they arrived.
Although I walked to the Hibernia, I was in no mood to walk home at 10:15 pm. Luckily, I was able to secure a ride from a good friend on the cross country team and got home safely and feeling sore in my calves.
Now, sitting in front of my laptop, recalling my account of “Cupid’s Night Club”, I consider the overall event to be a success. The dance was well organized by the ASB and the event went smoothly.
As to whether or not going to the “Cupid Night Club” was worth it, this question needs to be analyzed with different perspectives. If I was strictly rating this event by my enjoyment, going to the dance is probably the worst decision I have ever made. I could have just stayed home. However, I don’t think it’s fair to judge the dance based on my enjoyment especially when this was my first time.
On the contrary, I see this event as an opportunity to learn more about how other people enjoy themselves, such as what people do at dances such as different attire and mode of speech. Since I will be heading to college next year, I predict that events like this will become more frequent. Therefore, I pushed myself beyond my comfort zone and gained valuable learning experience.
