Hold My Beer

Two years ago, I was nearing the end of my first year at the university. I wanted to go to the university’s annual festival, “Student’s Day”, but I was scared. Public gatherings are difficult for me, mostly because the combination of being 158cm tall and very physically unstable is a winning one. People tend to not see me, and then accidentally push me. Also, two hearing aids aren’t the perfect sound system for live shows.

Some of my friends rose up to the challenge. I remember bits from the night: a friend saving my favorite t-shirt from getting ruined because someone spilled beer next to me; checking my phone while trying to adjust my hearing aids to separate the artist from the crowd; and how, after looking for one all evening, I finally got a cold beer. From the back row, I drank it and enjoyed the noise.