Make Something Special
After a month of planning, last night we hosted the Wholesome Writing Party. I usually feel a mix of anxiety and excitement on the day of an event but yesterday was different, I strangely felt calm. We spent much of our waking hours for weeks preparing for this day and we were ready.
An hour and a half prior to the event we began set up. We laid out the tea and mocktails at the bar, sectioned off a cozy, carpeted area with a couch, organized a few tables with word-based board games, hung up writing excerpts, dimmed the lighting, and played some upbeat music. The space came to life.
It was then 8 pm, it was now showtime and guests started to trickle in. It was endearing seeing new, regular, and old OTWC members all in one space. Out of the nearly 100 people who attended, I knew more than half the people. It means a lot when friends come to support you at an event that you worked hard for.
The vibes of the event were everything we hoped for. Guests were vibing, we cleared out our supply of drinks and snacks, and guests enjoyed the different activities that we laid out.
We made the intentional decision to not serve alcohol and instead served tea, mocktails, and liquid death. We were worried that maybe it wouldn’t be as lit without alcohol but that wasn’t the case at all. We successfully organized a Friday evening party without alcohol that was probably more lit than any other party happening that evening in the city.
As the end of the event approached, many of the guests said how much fun they had, how proud they were of us in growing the OTWC, and they were excited for what was next. The post-event high was an amazing feeling. We dreamed big. We put in the work. And we made it happen.