Knowing When Enough is Enough

I typically tend to consider myself a sheltered person with a minimal social life, but I think I've slowly come to the conclusion that that's really not true. Last week alone I went to four parties and three sleepovers and wasn't home one night for dinner. My brother has always been a "typical teenager", meaning he goes out a ton and has a girlfriend and his social life is completely intact yet hidden from my parents. Clearly, I don't have a boyfriend, and my parents always know exactly what I'm doing and I even fill them in on my parties when I get home (is that normal...?), but I still like to feel like I'm fulfilling my high school experience to the fullest. My mom has always wanted me to have a grand social life, because she apparently used to be popular (probably not true) and thus, she doesn't say no to me when I ask to go out. My dad is the same way; both of my parents are really lenient about when I go out and when I get home. If there is somewhere I want to go, I can go. However, it's important to know when enough is enough

Last week I asked my dad what was for dinner and he told me he didn't know why it mattered because I hadn't been home for dinner in a week and he didn't even think I was going to be home to eat that night. The thing about high school is that sometimes you enjoy spending so much time with your friends that you don't even realize that you're leaving your family behind. The important rule of thumb, with anything really, is that if it starts to feel overwhelming, you might have gone too far. For example, I went to a party on both Monday night and Tuesday night, and by Wednesday I couldn't even have gone to a party if I wanted to. I had gone to bed at 5 AM both Monday and Tuesday nights because I slept over, and I was so drained that I knew I had enough of partying for a few days (ha, at least until Thursday. I wasn't that drained). It's always important to remember not to do anything that you really don't want to, and that there will always be another party or another chance to have a great time even if you take a rain check because you're tired.

xoxo