Last March I lost my coat at a frat party.
I know, this happens to the best of us. But I should preface this by saying I really hate losing things. I mean I actually get really upset if I lose something. I lost my favorite stuffed animal at an airport when I was five and I still haven’t recovered. I lost my iPod touch in Disney World when I was in middle school and I still kick myself for it. I’m that person that checks over and over again before I leave somewhere just to make sure I didn't forget something. I guess it’s weird that I care so much about material objects, but if something is my responsibility and I mess up--I’m upset!
So, last March I was going to a frat party with two of my close friends. It was still cold outside, and I had decided to wear my lightest coat. To be fair, this was my designated “fracket” (frat + jacket). A term coined by a Penn State student years ago: a jacket that you wear to frat parties because you don’t care about what happens to it. Frackets are typically coats that are worn down, stained and ugly.
However, I'd had my fracket for years; the zipper was broken and it wasn’t even that warm, but I still cared about it. I’d had some good years sporting that coat! Which is why when my friends told me to put it down in the mountainous pile of coats, I was hesitant. I was at risk for losing it! Why would I put it down? Eventually, I succumbed, realizing I would look stupid lugging around a down coat in a crowded frat basement. I enjoyed the party, but when it was time to leave my coat was nowhere to be found.
Of course.
My friends had found their coats, and I was the one who ended up coat-less. I was upset; I rummaged through the coats for probably 30 minutes before giving up. I felt dumb, victimized, betrayed…like it was my fault.
So I decided to try to get it back. I took to social media, with hopes someone would understand my predicament and return my beloved fracket. I posted on Brandeis’ Facebook group:
I sent out Snap stories:
I frequently Instagrammed about it:
It eventually became a running joke between my friends and I. Even my friends from home would tease me about it--asking what flavor the Skittles were, if I had found it, where I had left it. It was actually really funny.
But there was a point when I gave up. I dedicated a final Instagram post to my valediction:
While there is no real ending or moral to this story…the one thing I learned is that I would have been a hell of a lot more upset if I would have lost my actual down coat rather than my fracket.
So as it starts to get colder, I would HIGHLY recommend digging up an old coat of yours and wearing it out on the nights you decide to turn up with friends. Visit a Goodwill or ask your older siblings (or even your parents) for some good old-fashioned “hand-me-downs.” Check out the clothing section at Walgreens. Invest in something that you actually won't care about. Unless of course, you’re insane like me and care about everything…even if it is a fracket.
