I am a tried and true extrovert. I feed off of the energy of other people, and that's where I find my joy in life--with others. I love spending time with people all the time and rarely do I find comfort in being by myself. I wasn't always so social; I'd like to think it blossomed out of my dislike for my shyness during my early childhood. I like to go out and enjoy time with my friends and my family, but that being said, I've never been a so-called "partier" and I've never really had the desire to. It seems contradictory, but it's honesty. I skipped the "party phase" and really don't want to come into contact with it.

As I've grown up, the concept of "partying" has evolved into a world of its own. In elementary school, parties usually entailed some sort of inflatable bounce house, cake with an achingly thick amount of frosting and a shrill rendition of "Happy Birthday" by a choir of 25 5-year old voices. I remember thinking that nothing could be any better, and that birthday parties were the greatest thing ever. I took every opportunity to get sugared up and jump around. My later elementary years saw these parties evolving into sleepovers with midnight slices of pizza and dance video games. These gave me memories I'll always think of fondly.

Middle school is where the evolution really took off. Suddenly, parties no longer had to celebrate an occasion. The surroundings became darker, and the music became louder. I still had fun, but there was something less meaningful about my attendance. I asked myself if I was going because I really wanted to, or if I was just doing it because other people were...usually, others' influence took precedence. It really began to dim the bright and shiny idea of parties I'd once thought of.

As for now, high school has brought many opportunities for me to attend a party, to which I've happily declined. I don't need to go to one of these parties to know what they're really about because gossip and social media have shown me enough. I don't want to see one of them close up. The idea of actually going to one scares me a little bit because I think they make it way too easy to make a mistake that you'll end up regretting, and for that reason, I'll stay home. Why put yourself in that position in the first place, you know? I certainly don't want to know. Keep your drinks and loud music, I don't want them.

I'll hang out with my friends, I'll go out, but I will never be a partier. It's not worth the risks, and it's not worth one moment that could ruin everything. Some people may tell me I'm missing out, but the party phase was just never for me.