You know what they say, time flies when you're having fun. I can't believe I'm almost finished my first full year at SFU! To celebrate the end of a successful school year, my club, SFU CAC, hosted their annual end-of-year dinner and formal called Member's Appreciation Night, also known as MAN. It's a great way to dress up and look fancy, take pictures with your friends, and dance the night away.

The theme for this year's Member's Appreciation Night is the Secret Garden - light and pastel colours, floral decor, and gracefulness and elegance was everywhere. As one of the design leads for MAN, I made sure to stick to the intended aesthetic and overall look and feel of the theme. Tickets were shaped like doors and included a key and twine to mimic "opening the door to the secret garden", and tons of paper mache, as well as lights and vine, were purchased to adorn the inside of the venue. A video was created to promote the event, which can be found here.

In all, I thought MAN was one of the most spectacular and memorable events put on by CAC. As one of their traditional and pillar events, MAN always gets a huge turnout, and it gives an excuse for people to wear their old dress or suit hiding in their closet from prom, enjoying a gourmet dinner, and having fun with friends. As someone who despised their last year of high school and did not attend their prom, I thought I would never get the chance to attend some sort of formal event ever again, besides weddings. I was ecstatic to learn that clubs and organizations in post-secondary hold an end-of-year event for their members and students, as a way to "appreciate" them! I also prefer such events as they're low-maintenance, you can wear whatever you want (just as long as you look good wearing it), and you don't need a date.

I don't know about you, but back in high school, having a date for prom was so hyped up that "promposals" were a thing in which the person asking their friend or significant other to prom has to make some elaborate scene and ask them if they want to go to prom with them. Whatever happened to simply asking someone if they want to go to prom with you? Why must you make a 5 foot sign, buy flowers, and play loud music during class time?

But back to what I was saying about MAN and formals. If you ever get the chance, definitely attend at least one formal in your post-secondary career. In addition to having the bar set lower at these events, you're not really restricted from doing anything; I mean after all, we're all adults, now right?

Cheers to the end of the semester and school year!