Everyone counts down the years until they turn twenty-one, or "twenty-fun." It's a huge milestone in your life and you officially feel like an adult once the day arrives. There's no more inconvenience of not being able to order a drink at the bar or buy from a liquor store like all your older friends can. But there are some downsides to being twenty-one that you may not realize until you're halfway through being twenty-one like I am.
1. It's expensive
Obviously everyone can guess this one. But you'll never understand how expensive it is until you are actually twenty-one. Think about it: you have to buy $5 beers or $10 mixed drinks at the bar when you could get a cheap handle of vodka for almost the same amount. You can't drive if you're going to be drinking, so you either have to annoy a friend to DD or pay for an Uber/cab. Every time you buy a drink you (should) tip the bartender. And when you have a few drinks in you, sometimes you might feel generous and buy all your friends (and maybe that guy you had freshman seminar with) a shot. It adds up and you wake up not wanting to check your bank account until a week later, when you aren't painfully hungover.
2. You loose your excuse to stay in
"Ugh, I wish I could come out, but I'm not twenty-one yet." Yup, this excuse doesn't work anymore. Also, don't say that you've never used this excuse to avoid drinking to stay in to binge-watch Netflix in bed. Everyone needs a night in from time to time, or maybe once a weekend, if you're like me. That's why it stinks when you turn twenty-one because no matter what your excuse is, someone is going to think you're lame for staying in when you could be out at the bar and taking advantage of being "twenty-fun."
3. Gaining weight
All those sugary drinks and beers add up and you'll end up gaining some weight when you turn twenty-one. It's okay, it happens to everyone at one point or another. But this is where you need to start deciding whether or not you want to drink your calories, eat your calories, or just go to the gym the next day when you're hungover. So next time you're out at the bar and you really want to order that margarita but you also want to order those mozzarella sticks, try to just to pick one because either way it's a win-win situation.
4. Hangovers = unproductive
I don't know what it is but it's almost as if once you turn twenty-one, your hangovers just become extremely unbearable. You'll find yourself wanting to die until about 4 PM the next day and wanting to eat everything in sight. Everyone tends to think they are invincible when they go out on a school night, but by the time that alarm goes off for your 8 AM, you'll be regretting taking those cherry bomb shots at last call.
5. It's the last really exciting birthday
Your twenty-first birthday is more than likely going to be one of the best nights of your life. People will want to buy you drinks, you'll be saying and doing stupid stuff that no one will give you a hard time for, and it's expected for you to be a hungover troll for a day or two afterwards. But, unfortunately, it's pretty much the last birthday you're going to be excited for. I think the real reason Taylor Swift made the song "22" was to make the birthday a little less depressing. Blink 182 said, "Nobody likes you when you're 23," because lets face it, it's an irrelevant birthday. So enjoy your 21st birthday while you can - and while you can remember it - 'cause every birthday after just reminds you that you're getting further away from your youth.
Don't get me wrong, turning twenty-one is awesome; I'm just happy it only happens once.
