The Summer Before Turning 21 is The Worst Summer of Your Life

Charlie
Charlie
Aug 22, 2017 · 3 min read

I like to think of myself as a realistic individual with optimistic tendencies. I always try to look at the bright side of things whenever possible, but I’m aware enough to know a shitty situation when I see one. And today’s shitty situation is the ultra-niche problem of not being 21 — or more specifically, being 20 when everyone around you is 21.

About half of my friend group has already turned 21 and is enjoying the lifestyle that comes with it, while the other half of us are still 2o and hate our fucking lives. And it’s not that us 20 year olds can’t buy booze or anything like that, it’s the fact that we can’t go out to bars on the weekends. Our cheap fake ID’s can fool the clerk at a beer distributor 9 times out of 10, but they don’t stand a chance against a legit bar bouncer. Believe me, I’ve tried.

While I was still in Boston for May and June I lost both of my fakes twice, and each time I had to bribe the bouncer to get them back. Boston is notoriously tough on fake ID’s though, so I was hoping that coming home to PA and the Jersey Shore would temporarily open up a whole world of bar life to me. But as you can probably guess, it didn’t. Maybe it’s my relatively baby-looking face or maybe it’s my shitty McLovin-looking ID, but regardless, I have gotten into exactly zero bars this Summer.

And there’s not even house parties anymore to make up for it! No, the days of Summer house parties are long gone. Nobody wants to host a bunch of wild, drunk college kids in their basement with their entire family watching TV upstairs, and let’s be honest, who the fuck would wanna drink beer with a bunch of dudes in a basement when every hot girl in the world is out at a bar? The only people who’d wanna do that are the fake ID-less 20 year old dudes like me. Underage girls can get into literally any bar that they want with ease, so when I say it’s only the ID-less dudes that would wanna hang out in a basement, I mean it.

I like hanging out with my bros as much as the next guy, but you can only handle so many sausage parties before it starts to take a toll on you. I’ve spent just 2 months here in PA this Summer, and it has 100% taken a toll on my mental sanity. This has hands down been the most boring Summer of my life. And I know that for sure because the most exciting weekend of the entire Summer was when I when I went back to Boston for a few days and went to a mediocre frat party. It’s not that I don’t enjoy being home and spending time with my friends and family, but having to watch endless Snapstories and Instagrams of people having fun at bars every weekend — while the only thing I’m doing is smoking blunts with my friends all night long — is driving me absolutely insane.

Remember though, I have optimistic tendencies. So while this has undoubtedly been the worst Summer of my 20 year old life, it’s still been a good one. I’ve gotten to spend a ton of time with my parents, brothers, and best friends in the whole world, and even though I’d love to be 21 right now, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. You’ve gotta experience the agony of not being able to go to bars before you can fully appreciate being 21. My 21st birthday is about a month and a half away, and I know for damn sure that it will be the most appreciated birthday I’ll ever have.

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Charlie

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writing for fun. https://twitter.com/charmalone_

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