I’m halfway through college, and I think I figured it out.
I’ve gone through all the phases that I’m pretty sure every student collectively shares. If you’re anything like me, your story sounds a little something like this:
You came to college with the smell of freedom tickling your nose.
You thrived on the high of coming home whenever you wanted, the lack of rules, the booming of the club music surrounding you as your friends pour alcohol down your throat.
The high is endless,
Until it comes to an end.
The high turns into anxiety.
Your mind is encapsulated with the confusion of why you’re not having fun anymore.
You’re wondering why going out suddenly becomes a chore after the club basically has become your second home.
Your heart begins to pound at the thought of the way you’ve given in to the pressure of going out when you know you need a job, you know you need to focus on school, and you know you need to go to the gym.
The headache that your anxiety gifts to you only inspire a “Don’t worry about it — let’s go out tonight to feel better” response beating you to death by everyone around you. You feel out of place and abnormal for being the only one who isn’t fulfilled by the college nightlife anymore.
You start to doubt if you’re even in the right place.
Spoiler alert — nightlife burnout is not just normal but expected. If your burnout has caused you to debate moving home or to another school, pause and unpack your bags. This is not the end of the world, and this is coming from someone who’s figured it out.
Going out to your local college-town club is the equivalent of listening to your favorite song nonstop.
You love the song. It gets better every time you hear it. You feel like you’re on top of the world when you play it.
Then it slowly gets old. You’d rather spend your time listening to other songs. You start skipping the song when it comes on.
We’ve all had song-burnout like that, and here’s the thing about it. Just because you can’t stand to only live off of hearing the same song over and over again doesn’t mean it isn’t a great song. Just because you’ve overplayed it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it from time to time.
And that’s just it. Like a song, going out is all about balance. It’s about putting it on shuffle with the rest of the things you should prioritize in your life rather than just playing it over and over again.
By the start of my sophomore year, I learned to say no. I started saying no to my friends who were a bit more built for the party life. I realized that just because there were people in my life that genuinely enjoy going out multiple times a week, didn’t mean I had to be the same. Everyone enjoys different things, and that’s the beautiful thing about life. That doesn’t mean I’m boring or not meant to go to UCF, it just means I like too many songs to be satisfied by one.
Since I started saying no to going out, my relationship with the club improved entirely. My rule is that I will not go out just because someone else wants to, that I will only go out when I genuinely feel like it. That’s usually once a week if that. There’s an old saying that distance makes the heart grow stronger. Missing something makes you love it more. I can contest that. The hatred that I ended up building for the club last year was knocked down this year when I lowered my attendance. Not going out every night gives me time to miss it. Going out has become a reward to me at the end of the week rather than a just-another-day activity. It gives me time to rest my body, sleep in and still be productive while also enjoying college life.
If you struggle with burnout too but don’t want to become someone who’s anti-club, I suggest you follow my lead. Going out less in order to have a better time when I do was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my college life. Take it from me, I’m halfway through college and I think I figured it out.