The way students spend their weekends can vary — some may enjoy going out and partying, and others would prefer staying in with friends and family watching a movie. Once you get to college, students see the weekend to forget about everything. Most of the time it is going out with friends, but when you decide to turn that down you are looked at to be lame. What’s up with this stigma?
In college, going out can seem like the main thing that happens during the weekend. But not everyone is into that — some students study or stay in with friends, and others simply just don’t go out because it is not their type of thing. If you are one of those people who decides to stay in, you probably know the feeling of being the “lame friend.” This leads to feeling bad about yourself and feeling like a buzzkill rather than someone with different interests.
When students feel this way, they can also feel pressured into doing something that they originally did not want to do. Just because a person does not want to go out and party and drink does not mean that they are lame — they just have a different idea of a fun weekend. At UR, you’ll pretty much find all types — those who choose to stay in, study, or go out. I have never been pressured into going out, but I do catch myself wondering sometimes why people choose to stay in the library instead of going home and watching a movie.
I don’t think we should assume that everyone needs to go out during the weekend in order to have fun, and the social pressure to do so can feel crushing. I will speak from my own experience: When the weekend comes around, I overthink and start to get a rush of anxiety. Why? Because I might be judged for not going out, or I might miss something if I don’t go to this specific party that everyone is going to. I’m sure there are others that feel the same way and have had similar experiences, and they don’t deserve to feel the way I do either.
We should keep in mind that individuals are going through their own personal situations, and everyone has their own reasons for not going out. Staying in and watching a movie by yourself or with friends is not a bad thing, and people should normalize that not going out on the weekends is really not the worst thing. I remember watching “Where the Crawdads Sing” with some friends one enjoyable and relaxing weekend. This type of environment didn’t make me feel pressured into doing anything because someone else was doing it.
