To Go Out Or Not To Go Out: A Saga

Ah, it’s finally Friday, time to de-stress after a hard week….or so I hoped. More like time to stress over what my weekend plans are. Do I want to go out this weekend? I did have a really stressful week so it would be nice. But I also really wanted to catch up on Netflix…. Okay, maybe I can go out one night and then stay in the other. But which one? Well there is a spinner Friday…ugh this shouldn’t be so complicated! I can’t speak for everyone, but for me, deciding to go out or not to go out is always a process. It depends on a lot of factors…

1. Is there anything even going on?

You know, a party that’s actually worth the effort. Yes it’s true that there is always SOMETHING going on but that “something” isn’t always the most appealing. As a freshman, the first thing I always check for is if there’s a spinner (a philanthropy party hosted by Greek life that is campus approved); spinners are the most popular parties for freshman at Lafayette since we don’t rush until Sophomore year. If there is, then there is a 98% chance that I’m going to go out, along with everyone else in my dorm. No spinners? That usually just leaves us with the parties at the sports team’s houses. Honestly, all parties can be hits or misses. That is why even if there is something happening, you also have to take into account other factors like…

2. Are any of my friends going out?

Even though I would like to think I can still go out even when none of my best friends are, that’s really not the case. If I want to head back to the dorms early, or I feel uncomfortable with a guy, I’m going to want to have someone I can rely on with me. There is nothing better than walking into a party confidently with your girl squad.

3. Am I going to get snowed on, rained on, and is it below freezing?

Speaking from a person who lives in the farthest freshman dorm from campus, weather is a big factor. If I’m going to have to trudge through the tundra to get to a mediocre party, you can probably guess that I’m gonna pass for the night. Plus, carrying a jacket around is hella annoying and so is finding a safe place to leave it (shout out to all the lost jacket Facebook posts!)

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4. Am I motivated enough to change out of my sweatpants?

Okay, so there is something going on, my friends are going out and the weather is tolerable (or not and I’m just gonna hope I don’t get hypothermia), but do I really want to go out? It takes a lot of effort. I have to change out of my comfy sweatpants and squeeze into my jeans, straighten my hair, put on makeup…it’s a process that I have to be in the mood to start. It’s usually this last point that makes me so indecisive when it comes to deciding if I want to go out or not, because sometimes sweatpants and Netflix are just calling my name.

So yes, there is kind of a saga going on in my head every time I am trying to figure out whether I want to go out or not, and it usually ends with me deciding to go out about 20 minutes before my friends want to leave. I do admit to being a very indecisive person but I’d like to think that I’m not the only person who has to go through all these steps when deciding whether to go or not. But at the end of the day, going out is just something you have to be in the mood for and, despite popular belief, not everyone goes out all the time.