I loved college. It was a wonderful part of my life. I have so many great memories of doing crazy spontaneous things, having house parties, and going to all night diners. And while I was never one to get krunk at bars and start doing stupid things and falling over, I still enjoyed going out and being a part of the festivities.
However, recent events have made me contemplate the continued fun of such events. I realize that as someone who is almost 24, I am still young, and by most people’s standards still in the age range where crazy partying is still acceptable. And I’ve had plenty of opportunities to party. I have a lot of coworkers who are good friends of mine, and love to go out after work and drink. And as someone who LOVES being social, of course I want to go have fun with them. But I quickly realized that their idea of “going for a drink after work” meant knocking back enough shots to tranquilize a horse, staying until last call, and then passing out in their cars. Now I really like my co workers, and I respect them. I’m not judging them for their partying –they are free to live their lives as they want, and I don’t have a problem with that. But when I hear the stories of what they did last night, a small part of me is sad for missing out, but the biggest party of me is thinking “I’m glad I left because I am too old for this shit.”
It may seem ironic for a 24 year old to say such a thing, but that is exactly how I feel. The couple times that I’ve gone out with my co workers, the latest I’ve stayed is midnight, and the most I’ve had is one drink. And I still wake up tired the next morning thinking I should have gone to bed earlier. You may be thinking right now that I’m pretty lame, but I don’t care. Laugh at me all you want but I would much rather party by making a simple drink at my home while having a board game night with friends.
Wild huh? Maybe not so much, but I’ve come to prefer the kind of fun that doesn’t give me raging headache the next morning. I may be only 20 something, but there are still things that I’m just too old for.
I am with you, Snowwhore– I have never been into crazy partying or ‘the college life’. But for me, it is almost for the opposite reason: I have always felt too young for it. Here at Oxford, I feel like drinking is part of academic culture in some way (I think part of the issue is that it helps very nerdy people overcome their social inhibition….). But it is also elitist: you need friends/connections to drink with, and you need money to pay for it. I have never wanted to party hardy, but I sometimes think I am being judged as simply too young– someone who just isn’t settled enough in her life to get on with the culture.
if you’re too old and merskank is too young, then I’m too much in the middle. A few of my friends from high school are going out tonight along with a hundred other people from my high school that i haven’t talked to since. And while I still really enjoy going out and drinking and talking, here I don’t want to ‘catch up’ with all these people I sort of know. It could be the usual aversion to high school people, but I think it is also that I’m still in the ‘temporary’ mindset, where I know I’m not staying long and I’m afraid to get attached again. This summer I felt that way with my coworkers too, and I kept a distance because I knew I was leaving. I know I shouldn’t feel this way, and that any friends are good friends, but I’m missing enough people already, and I honestly don’t want to add any more. So tonight I’m choosing to stay at home with my parents and work on my crafts. Maybe I’ll convince the small group to go out drinking next weekend.