A UMass Party in Third Class

Got that Irish blood, always chasing thunder.

Witches, evil queens, good wives + lion cubs,

This has been the weirdest, longest, shortest, most absurd 5 months of my life. For a lot of it, I felt like I was just a witness. Time blended, then stopped, then changed.

Nothing made sense and then everything made sense and then nothing made sense all over again — but I think that was the point. I left my head for the first time, maybe ever, and remembered who I am at my core.

Unsurprisingly, everything always comes back to my Snow Angel. So, let’s finally talk about Jake — the only unhinged Irish man for me.

(^Click his name to learn more about his legacy!)

Jake was the yin to my yin and my best friend.

He was the first male I’d ever felt comfortable being myself around, but I didn’t realize this until he was already gone.

One night, we did something so stupid it broke us, and we spiraled out about it until 9am the next morning. We were sitting in lawn chairs passing a bottle of non-virgin orange juice back and forth trying to unstick ourselves.

It’s one of my favorite memories.

We had a lot of fun together. The party didn’t start until we walked in.

One time, we were smoking a cigarette out front of a pregame and he said, “I’ll never leave you, Southie.”

He died that night. Haunting, right?

Jake taught me how to shock people out of their heads and into the moment.

This was our last picture together. I was on the floor sulking over some boring dude who will only ever be known as Pancake Boy.

We hated Pancake Boy.

Even though this picture indicates otherwise, Jake always made me smile.

I used to make people play this game in college called: The Ugly Face Game. He never followed my rules, and I loved it.

Fun fact: Jake is the reason I call you all promising young cubs. Do you see what I’m doing here yet? Mesi(m)ba… u+(m)e… the “m” is for mixtape. #culturaldiffusion4ever

Sometimes, Jake even served as my AD when I was filming events around campus. Everything is better with a partner!

📌 All this to say —

Faugh a ballagh for the MESIBA!!! I’m back, you mother forkers.

<3 Nic

Freckle-faced Hustler | Whimsical Skedaddler

PS. This is the episode of Shameless where Fiona leaves the Southside and never looks back. Also, I’m taking back Sunday. Newsletters drop on Saturdays now.

PSS. This track list is for my almost lover. Look at what Peyton Sawyer drew for Lucas Scott —

** Always free, no ads + we’ll never share your email. Learn more here.