I’m writing this in bed, fluffy blanket wrapped around me, cup of tea easily within reach. All while a fairly large pres goes on in the kitchen next door to me. A pres I’ve been invited to, with people I know and the overdraft still untouched. Yet I’m getting a ‘me night’, something I’ve never had to consciously had to do before uni.
Now don’t get me wrong, I like a sesh as much as the next person. I was out last night in fact, part of the reason why I’m now swaddled up in blankets, and trying to block out the noise in my flat with some less aggressive music. But it’s not the fact my friday night culminated in being told I was too drunk to get into the club, forgetting my ID and presenting my NUS card instead, somehow getting lost inside my own halls of residence and then throwing up everywhere but the toilet, (technically a disaster of a night but I had fun). Everyone should take a ‘me night’ once in awhile, even if it means missing the party. The ‘me night’ is not to be confused with a movie night with a friend, or a late night study sesh. The ‘me night’ is where you deliberately choose to be alone, and then spend the evening doing something you enjoy, be it reading, netflix or a bit of pampering – I’m seriously considering doing a facemask even though the amount of people in my flat right now means someone would definitely see me before I’ve had a chance to remove it.
Uni is a place of non stop socialising, and as someone who lives too far away to go home during term time (@northernrail, pls lower ticket prices, luv u 4eva), I never really get a break. There’s always something to do, someone to talk to, and you tend not to realise until you stop for a second but it takes it out of you. I’ve been permanently tired for the last few weeks now, and as much as I’m loving uni life to pieces, the ‘me night’ was non-negotiable. But also a new concept. At home, you tend to go out less, go to sleep earlier, and the socialising stops when the school bell rings. But a few weeks ago, I realised I hadn’t spent an evening alone here yet. And so I did. And it was magical. In fact, I’m now considering never going out again, popcorn and a terrible movie for me every night from now on – there’s knocking on my door. My flatmate checking one more time if I’m sure i don’t want to go out…maybe just one more night wouldn’t hurt..I’ve yet to try Thekla on a Saturday after all…