Universities are like ecosystems. An ecosystem is a complex community of living and non-living components that interact as a single unit.

 The wolf that hunts the rabbit for food one day will become the soil that plants and vegetation grow, which the rabbit will later use for food. Sometimes cruel and unforgiving, but always balanced and beautiful. Every living and non-living factor contributes to the ecosystem.

A university has living factors: students, professors, custodial staff, customer service representatives and the occasional problematic free-speech-abusing preacher. Some non-living factors that contribute to a university’s ecosystem include facilities, clubs, sports teams and nightlife activities, just to name a few.

So, what ecosystem would FGCU’s nightlife be?

As someone whose first year at FGCU was during the Obama administration, the nightlife is very similar to a desert. Now, people may look at a desert and see only rocks, sand, dying shrubs and cacti. But underneath lies a thriving, beautiful community of resilient, tough organisms.

We, the students at FGCU, are those resilient, tough organisms.

Looking at this socially, it’s easy to look at the area from Fort Myers to Naples and see a barren desert.

It’s all 60 to 80-year-olds in Tommy Bahama button-ups and Lilly Pulitzer outfits loading into golf carts to make their 4 p.m. dinner reservations. However, if you take a deeper look beneath this sleepy, mundane surface, you’ll find the real fun.

Let’s start with the Downtown Fort Myers area.

The 86 Room, a great speakeasy to begin a night out in Downtown Fort Myers, has some of the best cocktails and atmosphere to enjoy time with your fellow subterranean friends. They have a superb selection of craft cocktails and a full gin list.

After your beak is wet, it’s recommended to swing by The Indigo Room. It’s an ordinary bar with bottled beer, vodka sodas and Tito’s and Sprites—but most importantly, a large dance floor and DJ booth. This is the dancing bar and, if you’re into people watching, the perfect spot for it.

These are just two of many fun spots in Downtown Fort Myers—not including Cowboy Up, City Tavern, Lucky Screw and Social House. While it doesn’t offer an infinite number of options, there’s more than enough to mix it up and make new, fun experiences as we try to survive this barren, unforgiving ecosystem we find ourselves in.

Now for late-night bites.

The obvious choice is Downtown House of Pizza. This place has been around long before my time at FGCU and will be here long after. Any words I could use to sell you on it would be an injustice. If you haven’t had the pleasure of visiting this small pizza joint, just get in line and grab two slices—no need to thank me.

A second, lesser-known spot for late-night grub is Hook’s Seafood and Wings. Everything they sell is in the title. I recommend the honey BBQ wings with sweet and sour, golden sauce on the side.

Now get some water in your system.

Looks can be deceiving, and this area often gets a bad rap for nightlife. The good times aren’t found in the places or establishments we go to—they’re found in the people and subterranean friends we choose to share those new experiences with.