I am someone who loves alcohol and loathes parties. I think parties, no matter what the 'scene', bring out the worst in people. There's a group dynamic that emerges that I find incredibly off putting. I would rather shoot myself that to even enter a dance club (I once had fun at one when I was on an unhealthy amount of blow; so that should tell you all you need to know). I think it's great to have the confidence to "just say no" to parties. And as parties go, there's none worse than the college variety (well, maybe a wedding where you don't really know anyone): the music is bad; the drinks are terrible; the people are lame; and the conversation does not really even exist. My advice is to stay away. I used to go from time to time when I was your age for the simple reason that I wanted to hang out with friends, and that's what they found enjoyable. If you're not into it, there's no point in pretending. Just say no.
A friend of mine and I were having a conversation about enjoying our drinks and the situations that make it difficult to enjoy drinking and he related something his father had said, which was along the lines of, "if I had it all to do again, I would spend more time drinking and drinking alone". I know a lot of people seem to think that drinking alone means that one is an alcoholic (which I think is some alarmist bullshit, until I see some real evidence), but the point is, having a drink is about enjoying the drink, not about using alcohol to make yourself enjoy something else. Life is too short for poor company, especially poor company while drinking.
Amen. Nothing makes a good social situation great like the perfect drink to accompany it. Sometimes, it's a high end whisky, and sometimes it's a shit quality beer, but they're all good in the right place and time.Life is too short for poor company, especially poor company while drinking.