Yes, you read that right. You should be spending your weekends out, not in the library.You won't be able to make those college memories up once you're gone and graduated. Take advantage of these four years while you can because they are sure to fly by.
Your parents always remind you to focus on your studies and do well in school but, honestly, who spends seven days a week doing school work? College is, and will be the best four years of your life. Period. When you’re 70 years old, looking back on life, would you rather laugh at all the great times you had, or cringe at the fact you spent all your free time doing work? Live it up while you can because after these four short years, you won’t have the weekends or your girlfriends to be careless with. You have another 20 or 30 years to be miserable and work. Take the time to enjoy your life and go out at least once every weekend—you won’t regret it.
I understand that college is the time when you make yourself. You figure out your course of study and career, and your entire future can depend on your actions these four (or more) years. You spend Monday through Friday studying your life away in the Library or the Empo, just to get an A and, hopefully, pass your major classes. Half the time you don’t even know why you’re enrolled in 90 percent of the classes you take!
Stress becomes a common thing and there aren’t nearly enough hours in the day. Your to-do lists become forever long and once you’re able to cross the most minute activity off, it feels like you have conquered the world.
Then, the weekend rolls around. You contemplate whether or not it's a good idea to put your books down for a short amount of relaxation and to forget about everything that happened during the week. No ifs, ands, or butts – do it. Give yourself the benefit of the doubt, at least one night and let yourself loose. I advise, support, encourage, whatever you want to call it, going out. I don’t mean getting belligerent and using this as an excuse to become a party-crazy person. I mean enjoy the weekends, your friends and the memories you are bound to make.
The friends you make in college will either last the semester, or a lifetime. Once you graduate, the likelihood of staying in touch with everyone becomes microscopic. Spend as much time as possible with the people you love. Whether you go out to the bars or just have a simple girl's night out to dinner. Put the books down and go out with your friends. It won’t always be the nights you and your friends went crazy that you’ll remember, either. It’s the good times you spent together taking funny pictures and talking about the latest boy gossip. It is nights like that you will grow to miss once you’re off in the real world. Forget about all the stress you put up with the past week and enjoy each other’s company while you still can!
Going out also gives you the opportunity to meet new people. College campuses are huge and it is highly unlikely you’re going to make friends in your 300-person lecture. Just socializing with random people at a party makes for an interesting night. Who doesn’t love that drunken, “oh my god I looooove you!!!” conversation you’re bound to have with at least five girls. You quickly exchange numbers and become downtown bffs. It's even better when you recognize each other on campus and – boom – you’re actual bffs. Hey, you could even meet your future husband out one weekend, you never know.
Take advantage of fraternity parties, date parties or the weekend formals. These opportunities definitely won’t exist after graduation. Get dressed up and fancy with your girlfriends and take a night to let loose. Date parties are one of my favorite things because who doesn’t enjoy "dressing up to get messed up" or whatever the cooler quote is. Speaking of coolers, you might think it is miserable to paint one, however that crazy weekend you spend in Gatlinburg or Myrtle Beach will become your most talked about memory.
Now, I ask you again. When you’re 70 years old, reminiscing on your life, are you going to want to remember the best four years of your life as sitting in the library drowning yourself in school work or are you going to want to remember those awesome weekends you spent with your friends? The memories you make during college are going to be the ones you’ll never forget.
