I’m sitting here at almost one in the morning on a Friday night. My neighbors are playing the drums and I’m aggravated because I’m trying to sleep. But, then I realized that this is the time of the night when people are partying. It’s the end of the week and people can now let loose. For a lot of people, college is a time to party and have fun. But I’m here to say that it’s okay to not want to party. Parties aren’t everyone’s thing. Parties aren’t my thing, and that’s perfectly okay.
We somehow have created this stigma that you’re “lame” if you don’t go out and party on the weekends. What’s so wrong with staying home on a Friday night and enjoying some alone time? I tend to have a much better time watching Netflix with my roommate than drinking till I make some stupid decision. I’m not trying to bash people who enjoy the party scene: it just personally isn’t for me. I find happiness in other activities. It’s nice to get out once in a while and have some fun, but it’s exhausting to do it every weekend or even multiple times a week. I don’t know how some people do it.
When I was a freshman, I always wanted to be invited to all the parties. I think being independent and away from my parents for the first time really influenced that. After a while, I realized that I find solitude in much different things. I have grown up and realized that there are better ways to spend my Friday nights. I would much rather go out for a nice dinner or explore a new city. Dancing on some random guy while screaming the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s newest song gets old after a while.
The point of the article is to let anyone out there who doesn’t love to party know that they aren’t alone. There are plenty of other people out there that want to stay at home just like you. You should embrace the fact that you find joy in other activities and don’t feel the need to drink to forget some guy/girl that screwed you over. Don’t waste your time trying to pretend like you enjoy going out all the time. Find other ways to bond with those friends who love to party. Instead of approaching the guy you think is cute and going to his room, ask him to coffee. Take time to enjoy the little things in life and realize you don’t need to drink/party to be content with your life.
