As a 25-year-old woman I deal with a lot: career dreams, dodgy flatmates, endless gorgeous boyfriends (LOL JK) and ongoing debates of which takeaways are the best, so it’s only fair that I’m entitled to push such strenuous affairs aside at the weekend and drink copious amounts of alcohol and dance to Bobby Smhurda in sync with my fellow mid twenty-ers without judgement…right?!
I don’t feel old at 25. Certain life struggles make me feel so at times but I know that I’m not. I remind myself sometimes that I am ONLY 25. I’m not at an age where bouncers are denying me entry because I haven’t brought my zimma frame (can’t imagine they care to deal with broken hips) and my younger siblings are looking at which care home to ship me off to because for real, I’m only 25!
There are people though who believe that partying and letting your hair down is a waste of time and something we should have scrapped doing at 21. So is there an age where our priorities should change entirely? Are party goers less ambitious or successful than the tame, quiet individuals of the world?
I came across this quote on Twitter (of course, great twitter logic once again) and I was full of confusion and questions.
“I just know what I want in life and I know I’m not going to find it doing any of these things”.
Ok, so… are you going to find them at home? Is everything you’re working for hiding under your bed? Do you know EXACTLY where they all are? If so bring a sister in if sh*t’s that easy. I’ll tidy under my bed more often if everything I want and need is chilling under my bed slats.
This quote makes no sense to me. I feel like people who think this way have it all backwards. I mean there is no correlation between not partying and enjoying yourself and finding what it is you want in life.
I know that I’m not going to find a 5 bedroom house in the middle of Funky Buddha nor am I naïve to think that slimy Pete who turns up every single weekend with a batch full of women on his arm is going to be my knight in shining armour BUT that isn’t to say I should stop visiting Funky all together and avoid saying hello to slimy Pete does it!? I am a responsible adult who knows where I want to be and kinda knows what I need to do to get there therefore I am able to make decisions which aren’t going to heavily impact any of my dreams.
If anything, I feel getting a lil turned up every now and then HELPS in finding ourselves and what it is we want in life. There’s always a lesson to be learnt on a night out. They can be small lessons such as knowing when to refuse another tequila to bigger lessons such as never going home with a boy who doesn’t look a day over 18 because he says he earns 60k and drives a beemer because all you’re going to find is that he works minimum wage and his mum still drops him at the bus stop. Such valuable life lessons!
We meet people when we get dressed up and go out. We let go of a long working week and for a mere 6 or 7 hours pretend that music and alcohol is all that exists. People who are sat at home during this time are not doing anything any more productive than we are when we’re slamming our sambuca shots. You’re either already in bed or watching a terrible film on Film4. Bet that’s not part of your success plan is it!? Huh? HUH!?
Of course with everything being so expensive and wages being weak as sh*t we do need to prioritise and take care of where our money goes. We start to think about settling down and having children. We may already be settled with children (defo not me) so priorities will shift slightly and going out will become a treat as opposed to a Saturday night ritual but someone who looks down on party goers and stays in every night won’t necessarily be any more successful than someone who goes out 5 nights a week. It’s all about your character and your drive, the visions you have and the ways you plan to get there.
That early night or Film4 movie isn’t going to get you any nearer to your dreams and it isn’t going to make people fall at your feet. We are all attracted to smart, intriguing individuals who have a little secrecy about them but that isn’t to say you need to go one step further and become a hermit. Someone who barely exists because nobody has seen them in 10 months and has nothing to show for it apart from 800 film reviews and a years worth of sleep. We’re also attracted to a little fun; let our hair down whilst learning about new people in enjoyable, silly ways.
By all means perfect your craft and take the time necessary to become the best version of yourself but don’t compromise the youngster in you in order to get there. You will only be young once. Now is the time to go out and get sh*tfaced and get away with it. Deciding at 45 that you’re in need of a good time and heading out to the club isn’t going to be as enjoyable as it is now.
Study hard and stay up late if it means getting one step closer to that pay rise or house agreement but go out and have a shot at the end of it to celebrate!
