College is supposed to be the most fun time of your life, but everyone defines fun differently. For some, their idea of a good time is going out and having some drinks with friends. For others, fun can be spending the night in your apartment with two or three close friends eating pizza and playing Cards Against Humanity. Whatever you decide is fun for you, is what’s fun.
Since coming to college some of the friends I have made, on occasion, have called me “lame” for not wanting to go to a party or not wanting to have a drink with them. I have been deemed since freshman year “the girl that can’t hang.” This used to hurt my feelings, but now I’m okay with being the “lame” friend. I’m okay with it because I understand that what some of my friends think is a good time, I think sounds like a horrible night.
I prefer to stay in on a Friday night, curl with up with a cup of tea and watch my favorite series on Netflix, and that’s okay. Some of my friends would say that is the most boring Friday night they can think of. They would much rather go out somewhere, get a little tipsy and dance the night away. And there is nothing wrong with that. Different people define fun in different ways. Personally, I would much rather have an enjoyable night by myself on my couch with my favorite blanket then go out to a club or party and be absolutely miserable, anxious and counting the minutes until I get to leave and go home. That’s just who I am; it doesn’t make any better or worse than my friends. They are still my friends even though we enjoy different things. And if they have had a little too much, they can always count on the “lame” friend to come through with a ride home.
So if you’re reading this and you have been called the “lame” friend, don’t fret; be proud. Be proud to lay in bed in your pajamas and cry into your glass of wine over an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Be proud to sit in Barnes and Noble on a Saturday night reading a book next to an older gentleman. Be proud that you are mature enough to put your own happiness ahead of trying to fit in. It’s okay to be the “lame” person or the person that “can’t hang” as long as what you do with your free time benefits you and makes you happy. So this weekend, if you want to stay in, read a book, watch a movie, take a bubble bath or simply take a nap— do it. And to all the party animals out there, go out, have some drinks (if you’re 21), dance with a stranger and meet a nice drunk girl that becomes your best friend. This weekend, do what makes you happy, and don't be ashamed of it.
