First of all, I am not saying don’t go out and party. If you knew me, you’d know that even if I was a 98-year-old woman in a home, I would still be down to party. Taking a step back though, I realize there is a difference between partying and the kind of nights out I so unfortunately took part in for so much of my college career. I go to a relatively small school, so maybe I can only speak for myself in this situation, but who knows, maybe the same applies for big Project X party schools.

My major freshman year was basically in booze and my lifestyle consisted of stumbling to 8am classes still drunk, hangover homework sessions, long naps, and shots. One thing I can tell you is that blacking out every time you go out isn’t fun. Waking up in the morning in some random man's lofted, 2-by-2 dorm bed not remembering what party you went to the night before is not a routine you want to make for yourself. I know college can be exciting and fun the first few months, and they should be. You should drink cheap alcohol and kiss cute boys (or girls) and sleep for 3 hours and eat whatever you want, but that really shouldn’t go on for four years of your life.

I wish I realized this sooner, but better late than never. What kind of life can you live if every single day you have a hangover, and the day after drinking shots, you're juggling school and trying to get a degree? What’s the point of blacking out and having some mediocre sex after some subpar party? Why not get tipsy... or OKAY get drunk, because you only live once. But don’t get blackout drunk to the point of falling down dining hall stairs and spilling your fries everywhere. I am talking from experience here people so go ahead, take a second to judge...

Go out to dance with your gals, to meet new people, to love the music and love life? I personally got ahead of myself far too many times and past the point of being able to enjoy time with my friends because I was falling asleep before even making it past midnight. This is mainly to those who have yet to experience college, because I wish I was told this before starting my freshman year. It is so easy to develop a problem. It is so easy to develop FOMO and forget how to go out sober. I don’t speak for everyone when I say this, but I am sure I speak for some people, and I know that such a big change can be intimidating, especially if you are insecure with yourself. Don’t use alcohol to socialize unless you know you can do it while sober too. I feel like the college life is all about going out and literally dying, but what’s the fun of that if you can’t remember more than half your time at school? Seriously, don’t let your drunk self settle for anyone that you will beat yourself up over in the morning, either. Don’t settle for anyone you have to “fake it for,” and don’t take those extra 5 shots because you don’t feel confident enough in yourself.

I just feel like I’m not alone when I say that the college party scene a lot of the time is people getting sloppy drunk and lurking around trying to find someone to “Netflix and chill” with and then never speak to them again. Why are we doing this to ourselves when we shouldn’t settle just because we are drunk and love boys? How are we going to have fun if we can't even walk straight? Sometimes in the drunken moment, it's so much easier to just give a guy what he wants than to be like "nah I wanna go to bed because I have the spins and am craving dominos." If the culture wasn’t all about getting drunk to the point of death and “getting laid,” maybe people wouldn’t settle for less than average sex and wouldn’t drink entire ten-dollar bottles of strawberry vodka. Yes, alcohol and sex are great, but not when you downplay them so much that they are just another typical night out on the town before an 8 am class. Everyone deserves to experience these nights because hell yes they are fun, but all I’m saying is to just take a step back and realize that there is a certain extreme that can be reached, and you don’t want to look back at college and regret anything. My point here is, go out, have fun, eat everything you want, drink, dance, but don’t let yourself get obsessed with being drunk to the point where you make decisions that you really wouldn’t want to make sober.

I will always be a party girl, I will always love to go out and meet people, but I know now and will continue to learn that you don’t need to be blacked out to do that. You don’t need to overdo yourself, and if you have FOMO, there are billions of weekends to make up for lost time.