Clubbing: When Is It Enough?

Barhopping, frat parties, and nightclubs. The most important weekend experience of college. Is it? Is it the most important experience after college? Clubbing and barhopping in the major city you found that first job in can be entirely different from the previous four years of college. Or is it? What makes these experiences so different? For one, all of your friends are not within a mile radius, and every bar or club you walk into doesn't have your college flag or sports trophies on the wall. Just getting friends to get out of their weekly routine from post-work de-stress is enough, much less picking the same place to meet up. What about marrying the new and old friends situation?

You meet some great new friends at work who like partying with you and you have a lot in common since you now spend about 40 hours (probably more) together during the work week. Where do the old friends come into play? Hopefully set up a meet and greet and it all goes picture perfect according to plan...almost never. Change and new phases seem to define this transition period from college to grad school or full time career (if you do have time to go out. I'm talking to you I-bankers). How do you even get the energy to get up and go out until 3 am after having waking up at 7 am that day and worked for about 8 or 9 hours? Is it worth blowing the paycheck you just got? The clubbing experience is so different from college, it's hard to avoid the allure. Look at the hype of Jersey Shore. Those wholesome Jersey kids living it up in whatever city they end up in and ordering all the bottle service you can get. Maybe, you party even hardier than them. In that case, you need a tv show as well.

Why do you go clubbing/barhopping/party? Is it the "seen and be seen" attitude? Blowing off steam? Trying to pick up a new lady friend? Whatever the reason, when do you stop? At what age is enough clubbing? When you find that special person and want to spend all your time with them? Hardly. If anything, that'll be temporary. The excitement and butterflies will most likely fade and you'll be out partying with the best of them. It probably won't until you settle down with some children, many many years away that most of us would squirm just thinking about. Rather, when does the excitement of clubbing die down? - When you decide that you'd rather get sleep for the co-ed company soccer game tomorrow or to do those errands you've been putting off for a month. I think it's all about the priorities. What other priorities could you have? Oil change for the car? No, the parents will do that. Antique shopping to decorate the apartment? Maybe when you're 70. Apple picking that morning? Only, if your girlfriend drags you out there.

When is it enough? To be honest, never. Each "that-was-the-most-amazing-night-out" that happens will whet the appetite to do it even bigger and better next time. The notion that it's enough won't hit you until you're middle-aged and realize your mortgage and daycare bills say that your priorities have changed. But hey, maybe they'll have clubs for parents who want to blow off some steam from the brooding teenager. However, if hanging out and maintaining that grandeur social life is #1, clubbing will top the list, and until then, keep those dance shoes on.