It’s the first week of football season and the Eagles are playing the Buccaneers. Being the… It’s the first week of football season and the Eagles are playing the Buccaneers. Being the loyal Birds fan that I am, I decide to have some friends over to watch the game and cheer on my favorite Eagles wide receiver, James Thrash.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ It’s supposed to be a totally innocent evening. I’m a pretty level-headed person. I have no intention of drinking, especially considering I have to be up early for class.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Well, at least my intentions are good. A friend of mine comes over with a case of beer and the cheapest bottle of vodka that money can buy.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Grab a drink,’ he tells me.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘No; I’m not drinking tonight,’ I innocently explain. He glares at me.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I brought this bottle for you as a housewarming gift. You’re drinking!’ Well, I’m not one to be ungrateful, so twist my arm, why don’t ya?

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ By halftime, I’m hammered. This Eagles junkie doesn’t handle her booze well. As the game rolls on and the Eagles’ playing gets worse, the more set I am in drowning my sorrows.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The game ends, and the crowd clears out, except for a few stragglers who are as obliterated as I. The rest of the night is mostly a blur that starts to come clear after a few trips to the bathroom to pray to the porcelain god. I make a few drunk phone calls that I really shouldn’t, hit the sack and call it a night.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The next morning, I’m awakened with an overwhelming sense of nausea — you know, the feeling of having a pool of cheap-ass vodka festering in the bottom of your stomach — and guilt. ‘Look at you!’ I think. ‘You got wasted on a freaking Monday night, and are clearly going to miss the first class of the morning. Who does that!?’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ As my day rolls on and I start to feel less like death, I think about how much fun I had the night before, and decide that showing up for an AA meeting would probably be unnecessary. I had a kick-ass time. Sure, my apartment looks like a disaster area, and the Eagles lost, but I had a lot of laughs with some good friends. I decide, isn’t that what college is really about? Doing what you’d never be able to get away with in the real world?

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ College is the precious four years where you can get away with stupid stunts like getting wasted on a Monday night, rolling out of bed just before noon the next day, and not having to worry about any too-serious consequences, like getting fired. Two years from now, I’ll never remember a single detail of what happened in that class, but I know I’ll remember how much fun I had with my friends during the first Eagles game junior year of college. In the grand scheme of things, which is more important? I have the rest of my adult life to be responsible. For now, I choose to enjoy the last shred of ‘childhood’ I have. Sure, I’ll get my work done and keep my grades up to standards where I won’t have to face the wrath of my parents, but I’m fully content to be immature and have a lot of kick-ass times that I may or may not remember fully with the people who make college great — friends.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ As Tom Petty says, ‘Quit worrying about the stupid things. You have four years to be irresponsible. Relax, work is for people with jobs. You’ll never remember the class time, but you’ll remember time hanging out with your friends. So stay out late, go out on a Tuesday night when you have a paper due Wednesday. Spend money you don’t have. Drink until sunrise. The work never ends. College does!’ And naturally, what your parents don’t know will never hurt them.