Everyone loves a good party. You have good music, people, games and dancing. You get to meet new people and possibly have a few drinks. But could doing it every weekend have a bigger impact on your everyday life than it may seem?
Moving to Durango and going to Fort Lewis College has been a challenge for me because of how prevalent the partying scene is. There are numerous parties every weekend, and, of course, the same people are at every one because we are in such a small town. For me, this brings up old habits that put me in a really bad place, and I am not going to be going that road of misery again any time soon.
I remember my freshman year; it truly was the greatest year of my life. I got to live with my boyfriend in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, Silverthorne. We were an hour and a half from home, just far enough to avoid trouble with our parents and at the same time, we could start our adult lives. This was my first year living away from home, and, really not having too many friends all through high school, I was not into partying.
I was in for a surprise when I moved out and saw the level of underage drinking and partying. I had so much fun at my first weekend parties. There was beer pong, kegs, card games and friendly people. But when the week started again I was in a slump, and all I wanted to do was go out and party again or have a few beers at home.
I saw this pattern happening over and over, only it got worse. If I went out on numerous weekends in a row, I noticed my off-moods were more frequent and irrational. I would be sad for no apparent reason and it would put unneeded stress on my relationships. I wouldn’t come home some nights because I was out with friends or I simply wanted to sleep alone. I wasn’t myself and that scared me. After doing this for about two months, I noticed a real problem with the people I loved in my life. I no longer had anyone to talk to about my problems because no one cared. I had cut everyone off because all I cared about was getting wasted.
Once I noticed there was something wrong with how I was living, I started to slow down on going out every weekend. When I would go home, my parents confronted me for always being sick. Then winter started and I had to stop partying because I was never healthy. I had to go down to my hometown just about every weekend in November to go to the doctor’s office for medicine, wasting an enormous amount of time and money to avoid coughing up a lung every time I needed a breath of air.
In December 2014, I started to get into working out, finishing my finals and snowboarding to fill my time. It was exhausting, thankfully, and I didn’t have any energy or desire to party or go out with friends afterward. My strengthened immune system stopped picking up every virus that was in the air after I started eating and treating myself better.
Everyone learns about parties differently, and I have learned that partying is really fun and I enjoy it. However, if you choose to abuse it, you can destroy yourself, as I nearly did.
Aubrey Adler is a sophomore at Fort Lewis College studying business. A Littleton native, she loves dogs, the outdoors, snowboarding, music, singing, dancing and interacting with new people.
