High School in Night Mode

A HIGH-SCHOOLER’S EXPERIENCE OF NEW YORK CITY NIGHTLIFE EUPHORIA IN THE 1990S

SEEING DOUBLE

My passion for nightlife started in high school, after my first exposure to nightclubs at the age of fourteen. Even though I was always a studious kid who stayed out of trouble, nightlife drew me irresistibly. I craved the lights, music, and excitement. From ninth grade on, I went out multiple times a week, addicted to making it into whatever club I could.

I never drank or did drugs, but I would stay out until three or four in the morning, not just on weekends but even on school nights. Despite the lack of sleep involved, I almost always woke up feeling fine the next morning, and went to school, where I studied like usual and made decent grades - and in my junior and senior year, excellent grades. It was a double life: by night, I was a club regular making the rounds and partying until dawn. By day, I was a typical middle class, geeky Jewish kid from Long Island, working hard at my studies with the dream of becoming a doctor!