Is There More to College Life Than Just Drinking and Partying?
There is definitely a lot more to college life than just drinking and partying. I went to college in the 80’s and I would say now things seem to be a little more out of hand for some reason. Today you hear of police confrontations with students off campus and more cop activity on the school grounds.
I did not come from a family who abused alcohol. They only drank wine at meal times and maybe just had a glass of it. I never really liked the taste of liquor or wine, so for me, drinking and partying were never a part of my life. Even today, it still is not and I have no regrets.
When I was in college, I was never bored on weekends. There was always so much to do and places to go besides bars. It is definitely a choice that young people make because all colleges have activities and things to do on a regular basis. For some reason, drinking and partying is the in thing which is a real shame since drinking and driving cause accidents and other problems.
I spent my four years in college alcohol-free and when I look back, those were probably the best years of my life. I was only too happy to make new friends and hang out with them. We used to go to concerts in the area and dinner off campus. We had a Friendly’s Ice Cream place about 15 minutes away. The college itself hosted a number of concerts throughout the year. There were many sporting events to attend in the gymnasium and movies to watch.
If there were no activities planned for a particular weekend on campus, we would just hang out in each other’s rooms, go shopping in the area, sit in the lounge and talk, go to the snack shop, or go to the game room. There was always something to do.
Often, you hear of college students going to Florida on their spring break to party. Then you hear of other students doing worthwhile things such as building homes for Habitat for Humanity. What a better way to spend your free time by doing something for others!
There is so much more to college life than drinking and partying. Most people tend to think that the academic half of college is boring. Spending five hours writing a ten page paper sounds less fun than spending five hours with friends. But, an education is important. Not to mention, drinking, driving and partying can end your life early. There is so much that one can do and still have fun and stay out of trouble. Don’t risk your life!
*This is a collaborative post from Greg.
I just graduated last year so I feel like what I have to say might be relevant, however I wasn’t a huge partier but I did go out maybe a few times a year. For me partying or going out wasn’t a thing to do because there wasn’t anything else to do, it was something fun to do with the people that I spent so much time doing serious things with. I was in ROTC for the first half of college and going out one night when we didn’t have to get up for PT at 5am the next morning was a way to remain sane. The same with the second half I was on the Rowing team and we had practice everyday that we were able to make it which for most people was between 4 and 5 days a week. Whoever was planning the get together would take into account the important things in our set schedule and plan around it. I don’t think all work and no play is necessarily going to work for everybody, so instead of going out all the time I think kids should allot themselves once a month or once a semester to do things like that and then more often do smaller non-alcohol related get togethers just to have a nice break and balance in between studying and working!
I think we all did a lot of things in college we shouldn’t have done. With what I know now I surely would change alot.
i am so honored a ran across your post. It is so true and real. Sharing with my high school and college age friends and family.
Colleges offer so much as far as activities, so I know there is more than just partying. I wish I had connected more, because the small number of connections I made have been beneficial both professionally and personally.
There is more to college for sure. I actually met most of my friends through collegiate sports as well as clubs. I didn’t drink a lot through college, and it was the best thing I did for myself.
I honestly spent my time in college learning. I did not have time for partying and I’m OK with that lol.
there is so much to do from programs, museums, etc… that there is no need to have spend time drinking and partying
While I did my fair share of partying in college, there is definitely much more to college life than that. I don’t think that drinking and partying should be the focus of campus life, there is so much more to do that will enrich your life for years to come.