Somewhere between all the cheap drink specials and putting hours into getting ready, everything blurred together. The drunken haze you used to find yourself in more frequently than not is slowing fading away as you begin going out less and staying in more.
Deciding what to do on a Friday night has become a struggle. Would you rather just sit at home curled up watching Netflix, or spend your night in a crowded bar packed with people who are chain-smoking cigarettes? The answer should be easier than it actually is. You want to go out, but you know exactly what to expect, because you’re almost over the party scene and here’s why:
1. It just feels like the same scene every single weekend.
Nothing ever changes. Nothing ever happens. Everything is always the same. You’ve got the group of girls on the dance floor who look like they are having the time of their lives; they’ve got the “I don’t give a fuck what you think about me right now” attitude. You’ve got the group of guys in the corner playing darts while their friends hang around them talking to no one but themselves. You’ve got the guy who’s desperately trying to get girls to dance with him and then the people who are just trying to find someone to take home that night. In the middle of this, there is you. Just hanging out with your close friends, avoiding most small talk and observing how you used to be all the people at the bar.
2. You realize that it’s expensive.
Sure, drink specials are cheap you can’t argue that, but not when you’re buying multiple drinks a night and doing it a couple of times a week. It adds up so quickly and let’s face it, by the end of your college career you’re broke, even if you have a job, because bills and tuition are expensive.
3. You realized the calories aren’t worth it.
This is just a fact. Consuming 1,000+ calories in alcohol is awful for your body and no amount of exercise can make up for that, especially when you drunk eat on top of it.
4. You don’t have the time anymore.
It’s sad, but it’s true. You don’t have the time to pregame at 8 p.m, spend your whole night out till 2 or 3 in the morning, then sleep half the day away. You especially don’t have the time to be hung over the whole next day until you do it all over again, either.
5. Your list of responsibilities has grown immensely.
When you came to college, your responsibilities were going to class and maybe practice if you were also an athlete (and I thought that was hard enough). Now you’ve got possible practices, internships, jobs (maybe more than one), and way more responsibilities than just waking up and going to class.
6. You hate the effort it takes to look half decent.
Even though I’m notorious for always wearing Salvation Army shirts or flannels out, I still can’t roll into the bar with my sweatpants and slippers on. You have to at least try to pull yourself together a bit.
7. It’s way too cold out.
Seriously, it’s f*cking freezing. There is no motivation to want to leave the warmth of your house to go to the bar and walk a mile back in the snow and ice. There’s no way to put it that doesn’t sound super sh*tty.
8. Your friends hate it too.
When you used to feel like not going out your friends would always be there to give you the little push you needed. You’d have a killer pregame, which would generally lead to a killer night. Now, they are right there with you. When none of you feel like going out there is actually no motivation to go out.
9. You feel too old.
It feels like all your friends have come and gone already and you’re still there. You don’t know most people and you don’t really care to at this point either, because random hook ups and trying to make friends at the end of your college career doesn’t seem worth the effort.
10. You’re exhausted.
Your weeks feel like they drag on forever and all you want to do is relax when the weekend finally comes. You don’t feel like going out and getting shit faced like you once loved to do. Staying in, drinking hot tea infused with amaretto, and watching movies, sounds much more appealing than trying to pick your feet up off the grimy bar floor.
11. It was more fun when you weren’t supposed to be there.
You’ve probably been drinking for at least four years if you started drinking in college. And let’s face it, drinking when you were underage made everything way more fun. You felt rebellious, while a little worried from time to time, but you always had fun. Going to the bar underage and not getting kicked out was always a thrill, but now that you can be there you don’t really want to be.
12. You have actual interests.
You’ve picked up some type of hobby that’s actually good for you. Whether it be drawing, knitting, making dream catchers, writing or binge-watching Netflix you’ve found something you actually enjoy doing.
13. The future is here.
All the times you said you’d figure it out in the future or worry about it in the future, well that’s now. You can’t be drunk every night because you need to start planning what you’re going to do in your life outside of the weekend. You need to start looking up jobs and figuring out where you’d want to go if you’re trying not to end up back at your parents house.
14. You’re turning into everyone you said you would never be.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but remember when you were a freshman going to house parties and you said when you could go to the bar you’d still go to parties? Well that didn’t happen. Remember when your senior friends would go home early or not go out at all? You vowed that would never be you. You promised yourself you would continue the blackout nights. Well guess what, you turned into all those people you never wanted to be. But it’s part of growing up, you can’t stay young and irresponsible forever.
I’m a firm believer that going out and partying is an incredible and important part of college. Those nights will be some of the nights you’ll remember forever, but as time progresses so will your responsibilities and it’s not something you can do forever. As much as we believe we are invincible when we are young, we aren’t and we can’t stay young forever, so enjoy it while you can!
Featured image via Yaroslav Shuraev on Pexels
these are all so me. I’m such a grandma this semester