Yes, we can’t all be the same, the earlier everyone realises that, the easier it is to live peacefully with others.
I am by nature what my friends call anti-social, though I beg to disagree. The fact that I’m a twenty-something year old that refuses to party does not make me anti-social. There are other ways you can socialise besides partying.
I had to go to a party of which I was one of the organisers. It was for charity, so my thought was “hey, why not do this for charity”. I’m a member of a charity organisation that works with underprivileged children in a part of Abuja and we had an event to raise awareness for people who live in the environs to know what the charity is about.
The party was slated for 6pm and trust Nigerians with time keeping; the party did not start until 8pm. By 9pm, the party was on full blast. Time to make announcement and inform people about what the charity has been up to and future plans, the President and Secretary decide that we should just let people dance and enjoy themselves. Of course I was surprised cause it was agreed that not only would people be opportune to relax and socialise, but they would as I mentioned earlier, be informed fully as to what the charity is about. So since plans changed, I decided to leave for home. This was at about 10pm. And every member of the team thought otherwise. Everyone knows I DO NOT PARTY. Precisely, my friends were like “I can’t believe you came, I’m so proud of you”. So I when I wanted to leave, they tried to play the sentimental game of it being for charity. As far as I was concerned, I had gone out of my way and for once, pushed aside my principles for charity (not minding the fact that the purpose for the event was not being achieved anyway because people would just come and go without knowing why they were invited).
I tried to hang around for a little while but by 10:25pm, I decided I had had enough. I saw the 5 hours I spent there as a waste of time. This brings me to why I DO NOT LIKE PARTYING.
1. 1. For Religious Reasons: I do not claim it to be a sin, but all things are lawful does not mean them to be edifying. I do not see what partying adds to my life. I also do not understand why I would dance to vulgar songs today and easily feel a touch of a spirit when I hear Cece Winans sing. I thing its just madness. I do not understand a correlation between the two life styles. I find it hard to understand how people switch between the two. Note that I said vulgar music, not secular music (cause some secular songs are decent, fun, hilarious, romantic etc. Some just require you to move your body and dance which is fine by me). But most of the songs out there today deserve to live in the bin so I’ll rather pass.
2. 2. Moral reasons: I do not understand why I would dance or listen to a song that debases me as a woman, that talks about nothing but a woman’s body and what it can be useful for and then confidently rant on about the need for men to respect women when I, a woman is dancing to a song that focuses on my gender as a sex object. Most of these songs are so shallow and watery. I believe there is more to life than sex, sex and sex.
I also do not understand why guys cannot dance with women without touching them. Like seriously? I want to dance and have fun but hey, I deserve some respect too. Has anyone noticed that when u are dancing with guys, their hands are so fast to touch your waist and your bum? Its usually more annoying when it’s just some random guy or some guy you are not really close to. It just does not sit well with me.
3. 3. Health reasons- smoking. Good Lord, I think it’s just rude for anyone to let smoke right in the face of someone else that is not smoking. If I wanted to inhale so much fume, I would have gotten a cigarette myself. Why would I risk my health on the platter of fun or socialising? And scientific research shows that passive smokers (people who do not smoke but for one reason or the other, get to inhale them are) more prone to cancer of the lungs. To tell you how much I hate smoke, I do not take cabs that do not have AC whenever I’m in Nigeria. There are too many cars and bikes emitting fumes from their silencers in Nigeria so I avoid them at all costs.
4. And finally, I just do not enjoy partying. I usually feel empty at the end, like I wasted my time. I think I would do more useful things with the time spent dancing and whining my waist. I just do not enjoy it, I have tried it several times but it just won’t work. Let’s go to the beach, let’s go to the movies, let’s go sightseeing, let’s do anything else but partying. I have hung out with people who are called the movers and shakers of the night scene, I have attended the so called “parties of the year” but I do not understand the fuss.
I do not begrudge people who love party, it’s their life. But I get upset when people conclude I’m anti-social, I’m a prude or I’m trying to be holier than thou. If I can accept your lifestyle, please accept mine too. We can’t all be the same, if we were, the world would be a boren place to live in. So friends, family, loved ones, etc. I would really love to hang out with you more, but you lot seem to think my idea of is fun is boren which is okay by me. Stop trying to play the sentiment card with me, and stop trying to make me feel bad. I can do all bad by myself.
