This is what my semester looks like: five classes that start at 8:30 a.m. two days a week, an internship at 9 a.m. another two days, and a part time job that keeps me out late and up early on Saturdays, in addition to a steady social life (a.k.a. four nights of heavy drinking a week). This schedule has really taken its toll on my sex life.
When I was a freshman, balancing a part time job with classes was quite easy. I would go on about one date a weekend and devote the other nights to AU parties and clubs. I didn't have a problem waking up around 9 to head back to campus the times I did spend the night with someone.
First semester I would step off the shuttle at 9:45 to arrive for my first class ten minutes later. One time I squeezed into the last desk in the back, next to my friend, and whispered that I had just gotten back to campus. "Wow! I want to go out with you sometime!" she said. I stared at her blankly, wondering why she would want to sleep over at some guy's apartment with me, until I realized that she thought I had been out all night. "Yeah, you should," I replied.
It was even easier to balance work and play the following summer, sophomore year and my subsequent two semesters abroad. With the exception of Rome (which had a drought of attractive men, surprisingly enough), the last two-and-a-half years have been a steady stream of dating, hook-ups and no regrets.
I returned to AU this semester with a pseudo long-distance relationship and the idea that my days of casual sex were behind me. I knew that the relationship wasn't going to work out, but I also knew that I wanted something more serious than a one-night stand. As I mentioned before, even if I did want to go home with someone, my schedule would only allow it one or two nights a week.
The long-distance relationship ended a week-and-a-half ago, and we hadn't seen each other in almost a month. My libido was no longer accepting my early morning excuse for not hooking up, so I had to make it a goal to get some this last weekend. Friday night was a bust, tainted by impending work the next day. I thought that Saturday would be result in another night alone as well, but that's not the way it turned out.
We arrived at Blue Gin around 1 a.m. and immediately went upstairs. My friends and I just hung out for a bit by the bar and then they decided to take off. Not long after, I began talking to an interesting 25-year-old who was there celebrating his friend's birthday. A couple free drinks later, the bar was closing and I was in a cab heading for Capitol Hill. Mission accomplished.
The following night I went out again, but despite the swarms of prospects around me, the thought of my imminent 8:30 class the next morning and the satisfaction from the night before were enough to curb my appetite.
We all know what our priorities should be in college: academics, internships, work, etc. But sometimes if we don't allow ourselves a little fun, it makes the stress of our responsibilities even more of a burden. So get your work done, get to work on time and then get out on the town. College is way too short to limit ourselves to only one or two nights of fun a week. When it gets to the point that you have to schedule in sex, you know that these really aren't the best years of your life.
