For most of my college career I was one of the girls who wanted to go out with my friends and make as many wild and crazy memories as possible. I delighted in coming home at 3 am, with a box full of Taco Bell that I didn't even remember ordering, sitting in my kitchen floor with my best friends, recounting the night we literally just had. I went out 1-2 times a week, and in the summer I was a regular at our local bar every Wednesday for karaoke. I wasn't the wildest person in college, not even close, but I definitely enjoyed my time out.
These days, things aren't so different, I'm still up at 3 am, I still have trouble remembering things, and I often find myself sitting on the kitchen floor, except now it's because I have a newborn and I'm so tired I have to take my sit breaks wherever I find them.
Today I was asked if I miss my life before. I said yes without thinking, but looking back, as happy as I am that I had those experiences, I don't really find myself missing the party atmosphere. I miss seeing my friends, but I don't miss waking up with a hangover and spending the rest of the day in bed or being told about what embarrassing thing I did the night before that I only vaguely recall.
They say your wild college days are the best time of your life, but really these first few years after have been the best for me so far. In this time I've met the man I'm going to marry, I've discovered what I want to do with my life, and I've started my life. As challenging and stressful as it has been thinking about bills and groceries and rent and baby expenses, the moments between those stresses have been the ones I'll cherish the most in the years to come. These years have been filled with milestones, and all that wildness from college just seems like filler now.
The parties and bars I went to with my friends were awesome and so much fun, and I am so happy I had that opportunity to spend time with them. However, the days I have now, where the people I am keeping near me are the truest friends I could ask for and I'm not waking up at 6 AM with a headache, vomiting up the night's libations, are what I really want, even if they're filled with dirty diapers and no sleep.
Don't be afraid to grow up, don't wish you could be in college forever, there's a better future, and a little less time in front of the toilet.
