Freshmen, Mardi Gras season is finally upon us. For the majority of you, this is your first time encountering this kind of partying, dancing and parading. It can make the greatest party you’ve been to at Tulane seem like a weak walk-through practice, if done right. For most of you, Mardi Gras is the event you have planned to brag to your friends about all year, daring them to come visit and revel in the hedonism. This is the one short time a year when the whole city shuts down to fill up their cups, put on some beads and hit the streets. Here are some tips to make the most of this wonderful time of the year.

ASSUME IT WILL TAKE FOREVER TO GET ANYWHERE

Mardi Gras has two main options for transportation: the streetcar and your feet. If you plan to take the streetcar to the Quarter, plan for the trip to take at least an hour, because it gets crowded fast and you can’t forget there are people on every street. For the Uptown parades that you will most likely walk to, plan for the walk to take longer than Google Maps predicts. Organizing a party of drunken Tulane students is a lot like herding cats, so getting to Napoleon and St. Charles Avenues will be harder than expected. Bring snacks to make your friends move faster.

WATCH WHERE YOU’RE WALKING

The parades and floats are really cool to see, but for your own safety, make sure you watch where you’re going. The streets are covered with broken glass, slippery beads, bodily fluids and God knows what else. The sidewalks of New Orleans are even more dangerous when it’s dark and your vision may or may not be blurry. Based on personal observation, more ankles are broken from New Orleans’ sidewalks during Mardi Gras than the rest of the year combined.

THE MORE BEADS THE BETTER

The number one guaranteed way of getting tons of beads is to make excruciatingly long eye contact with someone on a float until they toss one to you. Learn this technique and before you know it, you’ll have five pounds of beads around your neck. Come on, all the cool kids are doing it. Just don’t pick beads off the ground, you will be shamed.

On a final note, get some cool outfits. If there’s any time to go out and party in only a bra, or paint yourself entirely gold, it’s during Mardi Gras. Good luck out there and let the good times roll.