Unbeknownst to your college self, sometimes people stay in. Yes – that means they don’t go out. On a Friday night, sometimes people are SO tired that they just want to put on sweatpants, get in bed, and turn on whatever movie is on ABC Family (I’m totally not talking about what I did last night… or am I?).
In college, staying in was not an option. Maybe you did it once – or twice – to study for a final or to sleep off a nasty hangover from the night before, but it was pretty much frowned upon. FOMO (fear of missing out) was at it’s peak. Every weekend your mind screamed at you to go out. It constantly pressured you, ‘who KNOWS what you will miss out on at the bar tonight or at that overcrowded house party down the street!’
After experiencing 4 years of FOMO, I can justify that you most likely wouldn’t have missed out on anything if you stayed in that one night sophomore year or that one weekend senior year. Instead of hooking up with someone you shouldn’t have… or drinking yourself to getting diagnosed with strep throat at the health center… you could have been resting so you would be well enough for the next night and/or getting some work done so you wouldn’t have to pull an all nighter before classes on Monday.
In the real world, we are much more aware of the silliness of FOMO. Not only will we not be missing out on anything if we stay in next Friday night, we don’t exactly have anything to miss out on. Our lives are not as exciting as they were in college. And that’s fine. Actually, it’s awesome. Staying in helps us stay healthy (have you ever wondered why you haven’t missed the convenience of the health center since you graduated?). It helps us catch up on our lives. It helps us actually be able to get stuff done the next day, rather than moping around with a vicious hangover.
I’m not saying that people should stay in all the time – that is certainly not okay. We are in our twenties. This is pretty much the last decade we have to live it up and not be compared to one of the real housewives of New Jersey (ahh! anything but that!). As a twenty something, you have to go out on a regular basis and have fun with your friends (old and new). There’s no need to rush the process of growing up. Enjoy your youth… please.
If you still go out on a regular basis, taking a few weekend nights to yourself is perfectly fine. There are only two days now for us to get all our errands and extra things we do done (Saturday and Sunday). Most of us go into work early and leave work late during the week, barely leaving any time for the gym – nevermind errands. And if we’re hungover all the time during the weekend, how are we supposed to get anything done? We can’t.
Life isn’t like it was in college anymore. We know that. Meaning that staying in sometimes is fine. Work is tiring. Errands are necessary. And rest is essential to avoiding illness (which you can’t have right now – work is just too crazy!). Sometimes even if we want to go out, none of our friends will be able to, so we are forced to stay in anyway. In order to get over comparing your new life to your college life, forget about FOMO (it doesn’t exist)… make sure you’re going out at least a few times a month (you should try to go out at least once a weekend, but obviously this can’t always happen – especially if you have to work on the weekend – sigh)… rest up so you don’t get sick… and have fun being young. Know that it is okay to stay in sometimes. As long as you’re still having fun and don’t get depressed thinking that you’re ‘so boring now’ and that ‘your life sucks.’ You’re not boring and your life doesn’t suck. You’re in you twenties. Live it up… with a few breaks here and there!
