I've never been a fan of sleepovers. Never. I don't think there was ever one time in my life where I thought "hey, you know what would be fun right now? Sleeping at a different house in a strange bed with a whole bunch of other people I hardly know!" Nope. That sounds like torture to me. I never saw the satisfaction in a slumber party.

As an introvert, there is nothing I love more than time alone and a lot of the time the only alone time I'll get is right before bed. It's a precious time, the only time I get to catch up with myself. It's the only time I don't have to worry about what someone else is thinking, feeling, or wanting. It's that sacred time to myself that I wouldn't give up for the world. Sleep overs ruin that. The whole intent behind sleepovers is being with someone throughout the whole night. It's an introvert's worst nightmare!

Furthermore, it's the only time I get to be natural and confident. And by natural, I mean bra-less and devoid of makeup. Sure, here and again I will go out in public without anything on my face to hide my dark under-eye circles, but there's a entirely different level of natural you're allowed to be right before and during sleep. It's the only time my legs see the light of day during the winter because of my refusal to shave them more than once a week. It's the time when I can wear the t-shirts I would never wear in public (ie. my Star Wars-Christmas cross over t-shirt complete with a Santa hat-wearing Darth Vader and the words "Have a merry, merry Sith-mus). That's not something you do at a sleep over. Why? Because someone else is there! And although they might claim they don't mind, secretly deep down inside they are disgusted by how hairy your ankles are.

There's also the whole sleeping aspect to sleep overs that I've never got the hang of. As an insomniac, I've never been too good at sleeping in the first place, but throw in another variable (the friend) and suddenly it's a whole new struggle.

"Well, Maddie all you have to do it close your eyes." Shut up, and no, that's not all there is to it. For the insomniac, the time between getting ready for bed and sleeping is delicate. Do one thing wrong and you're going to be up the whole night! And it's not a cute, "let's pull an all nighter" type of stay up all night long, it's a "I'm going to think about the inconsistencies of the world and how my life is eternally flawed" kind of panicked up all night long. It's not pretty, it's miserable, and for the insomniac, it's not worth the potential fun of a slumber party to risk staying up all night.

With that being said, one could argue that college or marriage is one big sleep over. And to that I have to say, "we'll you're not wrong." But here's the thing about those two circumstances: one has the ability to choose who they have that "sleep over" with. I've made the decision to room with my best friend next year. We'll be great together, and at this point, I don't care if she sees my hairy ankles, she can suck it up if she thinks I'm gross. As for marriage, there's not a more critical choice, and it's not so much a sleep over as it is a life commitment. Marriage is so much more than the time you spend sleeping together, the slumber party aspect is just a bonus. So no, I won't have a problem rooming with the BFF next year, and, when I find "the one", I think that sleeping over will be rad. There's a difference to saying "I do" and "yes" to a whim sleep over with your middle school gal pal.

So call me a party pooper, but I've never been a fan of the sleep over and I don't think I ever will. The time before bed is too precious for me to give up to be with another human being (actually I wouldn't give much of anything to be with another human being, but that's the grumpy anti-social part of me), and while a weird part of me wishes that I enjoyed slumber parties, most of me is glad that I don't. That's just the way I am.