I go to a party school but I don’t drink

Whenever I go home for break, I’m always asked the same question: “How’s Rutgers?” Which is almost always followed with: “Have you gone to a party yet?” And, without fail, people give me the same confused, judgmental look when I respond, “No, I don’t drink or party.”

I almost feel like I’m letting them down, as though I’m not living up to the party-school hype. One high school friend even asked me, “Well, then what the hell do you do?”

What I don’t do is judge or try to change people.

Let’s get a few things out there: I don’t abstain from drinking and partying because I think I’m on some higher moral ground. I don’t drink or party because, well, for one thing, I’m not 21 yet. But that hasn’t stopped anyone from expecting me to participate in both of those activities.

The legality of the issue aside, the main reason is because I’m a Christian. Now, before you dismiss this article as a supplement to The Scarlet Letter, understand that I’m not here judge people who do drink/party. Nor am I going to shove my beliefs and practices down their throats. I mean- hey, you do you. I’m just a guy writing about my experiences.

And my experiences, honestly, aren’t all that different from the experiences of the vast majority of Rutgers students.

Taken by Justin Arcilla

That’s because I’m not the only one.

It probably seems like I’m some kind of anomalous unicorn that shows up once every blue moon, but I’m actually not the only one. The great thing about going to a school with over 48,000 undergraduate students is that you’re bound to meet others who are of the same species of weirdo unicorn. And hey, you might even find that you’re not the weirdest unicorn out there. Okay, I’m done with the unicorn metaphor.

But seriously, despite Rutgers’ reputation as a party school (Slutgers), there are people who don’t contribute to that reputation. I mean, at a university where Underwater Basket Weaving is an official club, you can pretty much find anyone.

I still have fun. Like a LOT of fun.

I’m not miserable and lonely on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. I don’t only talk to people through League of Legends forums. I don’t hiss at sunlight.

I do actually have a social life that requires me to leave my dorm. I probably have the same hobbies as most people. In fact, I probably go to the same social events you go to.

Before and After the Masquerade Ball 2016; No, that’s not the Asian glow.

And, when I go, I go hard. Sober, but hard. Like, bad dancer who dances like a madman, hard.

And the cool thing is I’m conscious of it all.

Probably the best thing about not drinking is that I’m aware of who I am, what I’m doing and what’s going on around me. Learning to be myself and let my inhibitions go, without the influence of other people and substances, was one of the best experiences of my life. I don’t have to worry about unconsciously doing something I’ll regret. I don’t ever have to wonder about what happened to me the night before.

If I make a mistake, I get to fully be there and own up to it later. If I make the best memories of my life, I get to fully be there and cherish it.