College Social Activities

I think I missed the memo. What's the fun part about drinking entirely for the sake of drinking? I know I don't go "partying", but where is the appeal in a party where the entire attraction is being drunk, probably involving ping pong balls? Am I boring because I don't care to drink? Does that fact that you know I don't want to sit around in a house watching drunk people make you not care to involve me in anything else social you do? I'm confused. Being introverted is a downer now and then.

Also, clubbing. What's the appeal there?

Drinking loosens you up - it's largely a social lubricant. It allows for more fun times. However, you have to be careful when you drink. Alcohol is a depressant, and it's very easy to feel depressed while drinking if you're doing it alone.

From my own personal experiences:

1) Never ever drink when you're alone, lots of reasons for this. If you're already stressed out because of xyz reasons, you'll end up getting drunk, and then end up getting really.. fcking depressed. Perhaps end up crying over small minor things. Something you wouldn't normally cry about.

2) Drinking is only great if within moderation, and with friends that cares about you. I once got super-trashed at my friend's apartment. The time I drank about 10+ tall glasses of Long Island in less than 45 mins, I ended up going to a couch. Why? I didn't feel very good. So my one idiot friend started POKING me in the arm, I ended up waking up, and vomitting all over his foot. The result? My one other friend, Andrew, ended up cleaning my vomit on the carpet, and even picked me up and put me back on the couch. He even cleaned off the stains, because that's how awesome of a buddy he is. The guy who rented the apartment didn't kick me out, since he was also a close friend. Had it been a stranger, they would have gotten their ass thrown out. But yeah, believe it or not, it's very fun if you're socializing or gaming. I usually drink when playing SSBM because my playing style will completely shift. Same goes with my mood and attitude. Instead of being a competitive-prick, I'd rather have fun and just laugh at everything when I'm intoxicated. Me and the buds play drinking games, play games WHILE we drink, or even watch movies as we drink. I find it fun because I get to socialize with my friends and not have to worry about work, school, parents, etc. It's one of the fewer times that I really get to have fun.

Of course, bear in mind that everybody's definition of fun is different. I just tend to relax more when I'm playing games as I drink. It makes things very interesting . . . That and most of my friends drinks, so yeah. Do I make fun of others for not drinking? No. Do I care? No. Do I get annoyed if people whines because they dislike another person for drinking? Yes. Why? Because it's not their business.

EDIT: In fact, I'm sure some smartass is going to go in this thread and start typing something along the lines of:

"Drinking is for fgts."

Finished my two years of lolanimation without ever drinking, and came out of it with many awesome friends, experiences, and even a(nother) boyfriend. I guess it helps that animation tends to attract artsy gamer nerds, but yeah. Of course, our social activities consisted of watching movies, gaming at the dorm, watching more movies, gaming at the arcade, drawing naked people, hanging out at the bowling alley, and watching more movies.

Hm. On second thought, that does sound kind of boring. Still, GOOD TIMES.

Moderated drinking makes sense to me; when the alcohol is not the centerpiece of the good time. I guess I should mention I go to Michigan State, home of Cedar Fest, I've never really had a proper drink, but I have no qualms about trying a few when I'm actually 21. It feels like no one I know is capable of moderated drinking.

I find it fun because I get to socialize with my friends and not have to worry about work, school, parents, etc. It's one of the fewer times that I really get to have fun.

This is pretty much the conundrum to me. Does socializing not lead to de-stressing in its own right? I assume alcohol is the exception, not the rule when you socialize and as you describe I wouldn't consider it the focal point of your occasion, but I wonder if the generalized case is that many students are stressed to the point where essentially a drug is necessary to let loose now and then. Or is it some massive conglomeration of peer pressure, social lubrication, and new-found freedom where things go haywire?

Is there as much reasonable drinking going on as unreasonable drinking and I'm just oblivious to it?

I suppose I'm out of the social-standard loop because I have different coping mechanisms. At the same time though, I've been conditioned my whole life to desire social involvement. However, given the nature of introversion, I really feel down right empty after leaving a large gathering. Which creates a funny little paradox, since I'd feel the same way if I got together with an equally sized group of like-minded introverts.

[SIZE="1"]Also uncertain where I should have put this thread...[/SIZE]

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@Throws
There are 38,000 undergrads at MSU, certainly enough for me to find thousands of people I could connect with, there's just the issue of getting us (me) out of our zones enough to find these other people. Which then makes me wonder if the drinking culture I'm perplexed by is just a vocal minority. Also, your list sounds like a great time on paper, but when you stack it up against the kind of insanity that you hear about from stuff like texts from last night... kinda boring

Moderated drinking makes sense to me; when the alcohol is not the centerpiece of the good time. I guess I should mention I go to Michigan State, home of Cedar Fest, I've never really had a proper drink, but I have no qualms about trying a few when I'm actually 21. It feels like no one I know is capable of moderated drinking.
This is pretty much the conundrum to me. Does socializing not lead to de-stressing in its own right? I assume alcohol is the exception, not the rule when you socialize and as you describe I wouldn't consider it the focal point of your occasion, but I wonder if the generalized case is that many students are stressed to the point where essentially a drug is necessary to let loose now and then. Or is it some massive conglomeration of peer pressure, social lubrication, and new-found freedom where things go haywire?

Is there as much reasonable drinking going on as unreasonable drinking and I'm just oblivious to it?

I suppose I'm out of the social-standard loop because I have different coping mechanisms. At the same time though, I've been conditioned my whole life to desire social involvement. However, given the nature of introversion, I really feel down right empty after leaving a large gathering. Which creates a funny little paradox, since I'd feel the same way if I got together with an equally sized group of like-minded introverts.

[SIZE="1"]Also uncertain where I should have put this thread...[/SIZE]

Edit
@Throws
There are 38,000 undergrads at MSU, certainly enough for me to find thousands of people I could connect with, there's just the issue of getting us (me) out of our zones enough to find these other people. Which then makes me wonder if the drinking culture I'm perplexed by is just a vocal minority. Also, your list sounds like a great time on paper, but when you stack it up against the kind of insanity that you hear about from stuff like texts from last night... kinda boring

I largely believe alcohol to be a placebo where people allow themselves to act like stupid twats as soon as they let a tiny bit hit their lips. I find it interesting that you are going on a quest to find a good time. But at the same time find it such a waste of time and energy. My freshman year I went out to a scenic overpass with a bunch of friends and drank a bit of what everyone was having. One of our hallmates ended up drowning himself in a whole bottle of Bacardi 151. When we headed back to our dorm, the effects of the alcohol got to him and he fell face first into the concrete steps. He ended up getting his stomach pumped and got stitches. He lost a tooth and his dignity. This was also right before Valentine's Day so his mother came all the way from Philadelphia and sarcastically stated, "Thanks for giving me the best mother's day gift ever." We still talk about that incident to this day.

As stated before, drinking in moderation is definitely best. If you're doing it purely for the pleasure of making a fool out of yourself, by all means, go for it? -shrugs- I drink only to loosen up, and it gives me a small excuse to act like an idiot for a bit. But I won't go beyond my own body's limitations.

This is pretty much the conundrum to me. Does socializing not lead to de-stressing in its own right?

See, this depends. If just regular socializing doesn't relieve you of your stress, perhaps alcohol is or is not the answer. I tend to chill a lot more when I have a real talk with my friends. The alcohol is only added to make things a bit more interesting. Is it necessary? Perhaps not. But we drink because we think it's fun. If others don't drink, that's their choice. We won't force them.

I assume alcohol is the exception, not the rule when you socialize and as you describe I wouldn't consider it the focal point of your occasion, but I wonder if the generalized case is that many students are stressed to the point where essentially a drug is necessary to let loose now and then.

Some people are so depressed that they need to drink, but some times, that makes things worse.

Or is it some massive conglomeration of peer pressure, social lubrication, and new-found freedom where things go haywire?

At the earlier teenage or young-adult years, yes. People will succumb to peer-pressure and drink, just to look cool and fit in. Everybody knows this. When I started drinking at the age of 15, I took small sips at a time because I always wanted to try alcohol. Not because of peer-pressure. And also when I drank, I would never let my own friends know about it. I always drank at night inside my own house. I had my first sip of beer at the age of 6 though.

Is there as much reasonable drinking going on as unreasonable drinking and I'm just oblivious to it?

Truthfully, most people are baboons when it comes to drinking. Most of the college students I know = drink to get wasted.

I suppose I'm out of the social-standard loop because I have different coping mechanisms. At the same time though, I've been conditioned my whole life to desire social involvement. However, given the nature of introversion, I really feel down right empty after leaving a large gathering. Which creates a funny little paradox, since I'd feel the same way if I got together with an equally sized group of like-minded introverts.

To sum up everything, drinking is not necessary in able to have a good time. Here's my opinion on it, if you want to have a good time in a different way, yes, perhaps try drinking. I wouldn't say it'll always be better, but it's fun for me when I play Super Smash Brothers Melee, Halo, Dead or Alive, and ... [insert more games here]! Especially with good friends, it can be great. With random strangers, you might end up getting yourself in deep sh't for all I know. You don't need alcohol to cope with anything. It's not required. Hell, some people look down upon you for drinking, while others will glorify you for it. It's up to you.

To sum up everything, drinking is not necessary in able to have a good time. Here's my opinion on it, if you want to have a good time in a different way, yes, perhaps try drinking. I wouldn't say it'll always be better, but it's fun for me when I play Super Smash Brothers Melee, Halo, Dead or Alive, and ... [insert more games here]! Especially with good friends, it can be great. With random strangers, you might end up getting yourself in deep sh't for all I know. You don't need alcohol to cope with anything. It's not required. Hell, some people look down upon you for drinking, while others will glorify you for it. It's up to you.

This.

All in all, drinking is fun if it's done right (with people, in moderation, etc.), but, as Khoi said, is not necessary in having a good time. The mental feelings you experience while drinking are great to essentially say "fuck it" to the world and problems you may have in life, which is why a lot of people drink, but again, such a euphoria can occur through other means.

One such avenue I've found is substance-free clubbing, like you mentioned in your first post. Clubbing is a really, really awesome to let everything go as well because all you focus on is the beat of the music and keeping your body in time with whomever you're dancing. It's probably a bit easier/more enjoyable for people who are musically attuned, but popular music nowadays (and techno in general) is all created in a simple 4/4 beat that anyone who can count can follow pretty readily. To experience the euphoria of clubbing at it's best, you have to imagine yourself letting go of everything and existing solely within the music. It sounds cheesy, but when you're "one with the beat" or your body is "in sync with the rhythm," your mind is essentially numbed to all other external signals, creating a pseudo-inebriated state that isn't detrimental to your health like dumping ethanol on your liver.

tl;dr: Go clubbing. It's awesome, and a fantastic place to escape and experience mental euphoria without killing your liver/neurons with ethanol.