10 Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Turned 21

10. You're going to feel the need to make a major change over the course of the next year. Don't do something crazy like break off your relationship (unless you're legitimately unhappy) or pick up shoplifting. Instead, cut/dye your hair or pick up a hobby like collecting something or something artsy.


9. You will drink far too much alcohol in the year you are 21. In fact, you will drink so much you're legitimately terrified to check what percent of your monthly finances goes to booze.

8. Invest in a camera. There will be a lot of nights you won't remember and you'll want photographic evidence to the stories your friends tell you the next day about the things you did. While You're at it, invest in either a scrapbook or photo album. Most of the photos you'll take should never be introduced to the internet, but you'll want to keep them for yourself.

7. Your friends will more than likely seperate into three groups. You'll have the Occasionally Partiers who will throw a lot of summer bonfires and have big shindigs where they invite like 20 people. These friends will only call you up 3-4 times during the colder months for smaller shindigs inside. You'll have a set of friends that are always down to drink. You will share a lot of good memories with these friends just getting drunk, playing games, and having conversations about life and the world. Sometimes you will get sloppy drunk with these people and sometimes you will just have a few beers and just bullshit, but there is always alcohol involved. Finally, you'll have two or three friends who you actually do normal human things with not under the influence of alcohol. If these are people who don't drink, you'll likely hardly ever see them. If they do drink, you'll have sober times and drunk times together and you'll see them pretty fucking often. These are more than likely the friends you've had for at least 5+ years.

6. You will quickly learn what time the bars and local liquor stores. You will also learn what time Wal-Mart Stops selling. You'll also have a rude awakening when you realize that they stop selling alcohol earlier on Sundays (and some states don't sell at all on Sundays).

5. It will take you awhile to figure out what alcohols affect you in what ways and this will determine what your general drink of choice is. I learned wine makes me honest and angry and beer makes me want to make new friends when I drink enough of it. I also learned that Mad Dog is so easy to drink, but you'll be drunk in no time at all. I learned that Steele Reserve and Earthquake will make me black out after a beer or two and then I'll more than likely pass out on the floor. You'll play a lot of fun drinking games while trying to figure all of this out.

4. Being intoxicated removes your filter. You will curse a lot more, you will say things that would never come out of your mouth sober, and you will be 100% honest with not even the slightest regard for someone's feelings. I feel like I've helped this a bit for setting up drunk rules for myself while still sober. Generally these include: 1. Don't talk to girls you don't know. You will compliment them, then have 20 minute conversations with them and if they're not as drunk as you, they will probably think (know) you're hitting on them and will label you a total creep. 2. Don't say anything negative about anyone. Your filter is gone and more than likely you will run into this person in public and you're just creating bad vibes. 3. Avoid giving dirty looks when someone you don't like says anything or someone you aren't insanely fond of says something you don't like. You're drunk and you don't notice when people are giving dirty looks, but others are sober and will see them clear as day. Just don't give dirty looks, period.

3. You'll probably make some (or a lot) of poor decisions under the influence of alcohol. You will say mean things. You will do things you know you shouldn't. You'll cry for silly reasons in public. You'll try to relate to people on situations you cannot relate to at all. You'll tell your life story and get into details you really should just not. You'll try to hit on people that will not be interested. You'll test bounderies. You'll get in a lot of trouble...and you should never just blame it on being drunk. Bad idea. Just try to avoid all of this if at all possible.

2. If you drink where it is publicly allowed, you will talk to a lot of strangers. You'll find yourself approaching strangers to let them know they have nice hair, they make a nice couple, or just because they seem like they may be cool. Some of these people will become your best friends for the night. Some of them will think you're a complete creep and do anything and everything to avoid you from here on out. A lot of times, you will not remember these folks and will wake up to friend requests on facebook thinking "Who the fuck is this?!" or these people will see you in another public setting weeks from now and call you by name. You will not remember their face, their name, or what conversations you may have had with them in your intoxicated state.

1. You will stumble into 22 feeling like the only similarity you share with your 20 year old self is the skin you live in.