Image: photo of ‘college party’ via flickr
Colleges and partying: these two things are almost always seen synonymously. If you go to college, it’s almost guaranteed partying is going to be on your agenda. Even if you don’t necessarily like partying, it’s almost harder to ignore it.
I remember my first week at college: everyone around me was asking where parties were and how to get into them. Now, a few weeks in, everyone knows where the parties are and barely anyone goes. There’s obviously certain days where partying is more prevalent than others, but throughout the whole week I’ve found many different chances to party.
Partying is a very broad term though; this could refer to frats, dorms or almost anywhere. Not every party needs to have drugs or alcohol, either, and learning to have fun at dry parties is an essential part of growing up. In high school, whenever there was a dry party, there were always people annoyed that there was no alcohol. They’d be annoyed the whole night and refuse to see any fun in a dry party. While it’s important to find where your limits lie with alcohol, it’s even more important that you understand how to have fun without it. I knew people that wouldn’t go to any party if it was dry, and now, in college, it’s tough because we’re in a space where drugs and alcohol are so prevalent. With so many parties at people’s doorsteps, some people are starting to take it too far.
It’s okay to party occasionally, but there is a limit where it becomes too much. I’ve seen and heard of many people who have been consumed by party culture, and every night are trying to find any way to get “messed up.” It’s sad to watch people you might even consider friends now addicted to the thrill of partying. No matter how much you try to tell them to take a night off or tell them what all this partying is doing to not only their physical but mental health, they refuse to listen.
On one hand, we’re all adults here and we should know how to take care of ourselves, but on the other hand, we have to be there for our friends. For many of us, this is also our first time on our own, so we’re still trying to figure everything out. I only knew one person who was consumed by party culture, and I don’t even want to think about the multitude of other students who are suffering. You’ll find more often than not that a lot of this pressure to party is coming from their friends.
A lot of people get stuck in this loop, thinking that if they were in a toxic friend group in high school then that’s where they belong. This loop keeps students from making the right decisions and surrounding themselves with other people who do nothing but halt their growth. This kind of thinking does no one any favors, and merely supports unhealthy behavior.
It’s important that if you yourself are in a toxic relationship of any kind, whether it be with friends or romantic partners, or you know someone who is, you get yourself or them out as soon as possible. The sooner they are out of this relationship the sooner they can get the help they need, and become the person they were meant to be.
Especially with how rampant drugs and alcohol are in college, it’s crucial now more than ever that you make smart decisions. I’m not saying there aren’t responsible and smart ways to party, but rather that understanding your limits and not getting hooked into party culture is essential. This starts by surrounding yourself with people who are going to not put you down, but help you up. There is so much more to college than partying, and it’s there that you’ll find the road to making healthy and smart decisions.
Samuel J. Beadle is a first-year English major.