By: Jaclyn Wloszek

It’s 1 a.m.; life is a whirlwind of colors. You are laughing about something that that bartender said. Your ears are ringing; the song “Levels” by Avicii is playing. People are pressed up against you; normally you are claustrophobic but it doesn’t seem to matter much tonight for some reason. You just dropped $20 at the bar, sipping on another long island. One of your “friends” is making out with an attractive guy in the corner while another is in the bathroom washing the X’s off her hands.  You are having the time of your life.

If you step back, the scene isn’t as brightly colored and happy as it first appeared. You are making a fool of yourself at the bar. You don’t even like the music. There are sweaty drunk people all around you, a cesspool for disease. You just wasted hard earned money. Your “friend” is actually making out with your ex-boyfriend; the other is trying to get a drink from the bar when she is underage. This is not the time of your life.

There is a point when everyone overdoes it. Some people realize it after the fact. I think when your dress turns into a shirt, and your scarf is stuck in a guy’s undone belt, you have crossed that line, but I could be wrong.

Trust me, I love a good time. Some of those stories are the best to tell and to hear. But keep in perspective that life isn’t all about the bars or the parties or the hookups. You can’t measure life by the drinks you’ve had.

Going out is an escape from reality; just do not let that escape become your reality. You will not always be this way. Remember your purpose, remember your identity and remember that the rest of the world doesn’t want to see you at 1 a.m., laughing at the bar.