Possible story: Kelsey's 21st, my 21st, my weekend in Pittsburgh, the building of the Wall of Randomness

Lots of people try to out-due their 21st birthday, make it some sort of extravagant event, maybe life-changing. Why is that? Is it some sort of passage from teenage-ruckus to sophisticated adulthood? Why is it assumed to be the drunken adventures of someone who's friends just want them to have a story to remember? Instead the "great fun-loving friends" unintentionally disable the memory of the special gal/guy with gross amounts of alcohol.

My roommate and best friend in college, Kelsey, was finally joining the ranks of the rest of us as "sophisticated adults" -- only by age. We were care-free, college students looking for a great way to spend her birthday.