Movies like “Pitch Perfect,” “Neighbors,” and “American Pie 2” depict college life through the lens of parties and wild nights.

While it is clear that these movies are an exaggeration, college life is still thought of as one big party – full of drinking and crazy behavior.

College students are almost expected to party. It is just assumed that partying is what you do at college.

But, what if you would rather watch Netflix?

I just finished my freshman year of college without going to a single college party. Did I miss out? Not at all.

Believe it or not, college has far more to offer than the party culture.

Plenty of my friends go to parties and I am okay with that. Anyone who wants to go to a party is more than welcome to it. It is just not something I am interested in.

The bottom line is – do what you want with your Friday night. Although anyone is free to take a break from the stress of college with a party, no one should feel pressured to go to a party.

Partying should not be a necessity to college and it should not be something you do just for the sake of checking it off a list of “things you do in college.”

I find it disconcerting that people openly talk about how horrible parties are. Few people seem to actually enjoy this college partying culture. And I have been told more than a few times that a party is something that you cannot enjoy sober. So why go at all?

Why down beer from a keg for a night that no one is going to remember tomorrow just to say you did?

Now, I understand that some people really just like the idea of forgetting about their worries for a couple of hours. Trust me, I do too. We all have different ways of escaping the stresses of life, and that is okay.

But no one should ever feel pressured to go to a party or drink if they do not want to. No one should feel like that is just what you do in college.

Party because you want to. Watch Netflix in your dorm because you need a break from people. Make spaghetti with friends and spend the night talking. College is what you make it – not what other people say it is.

Either way, you are not missing out on “college life.”

Call me a nerd or a rule follower or just plain old boring. Some nights while the girls on my floor went out to party, I stayed up doing homework. Other nights I was in bed before 10. To each his own.

My argument is not that partying is wrong or even that it is not fun for those who participate. But, my hope is that future college students do not party just because that is the norm. My hope is that students do not look down upon others who do not party.

Next year, I will be living in substance free housing. When I talk about it, my first thought is that people will assume I am pretentious and that I look down upon those who party. And, some have assumed that it is not the case at all.

My idea of a fun Friday night is staying up late watching movies with friends. Is it too much to ask to be on a floor with other students who would rather do the same?

There is so much more than partying and I am determined to explore my possibilities. I am so glad that I refused to be dragged into something that I really had no interest in doing. I learned that the best thing for me to do on the weekend is to catch up on sleep or my favorite shows on Netflix or find a new restaurant to try out. I also learned that the best thing for me is not the best thing for everyone else. If a party is your favorite way to spend the weekend, then party on. If not, find something new.