Flognonian: Arriving late to parties

As a naïve first-semester freshmen, I walked into my first college party at the infamous Crew House surrounded by twenty of my closest new best friends and high hopes. But rather than stepping into the chaos of drunken dancing in a tightly packed room, I just made sort-of-eye-contact with a few guys playing beer pong and bopped awkwardly on a nearly empty dance floor. I was confused; Facebook had clearly said the event started at 10:30, and here we were wondering if we had the right address.  We were in fact at the right place, as if the incredibly tall, preppy boys didn’t give it away. And an hour and half after the Facebook official start time, the party got poppin’ when all the cool kids rolled in. Blame it on my lack of party experience, blame it on my attempted punctuality, but this was the first in a line of parties filled with being uncomfortably early, and trust me, I am not the person who brings the party with me.I get it, I get it; people never want to be the first ones to a party. It’s a rookie mistake and makes you seem over eager. But it is rude and I am done. Why does being cool equate with being late? Am I the only person who values punctuality anymore? While it’s awkward to be the first person at a party, think about the poor host. They have to stand around for hours with their perfectly positioned drink table and artfully placed streamers, whipping their head to the door time they hear a noise and obsessively checking their phone. I was at a launch party a few weeks ago that started at 9, granted a little early, and at 11:00 was still barely moving. I felt bad, like really bad. However, 3 hours after the start time, the party blew up and there was a considerable line to get in. The people who planned it subsequently had to stay later than planned because they couldn’t end the party when it just got going.What is with the trend of being late? Does the passivity to punctuality make you seem carefree and cool? Does it make you look like you give no fricks and are going roll in whenever you want to roll? The irony of it all is that if everyone just showed up on time, no one would be alone, and the parties could get going so much earlier. As someone who is constantly sleep-deprived, I see that as a huge advantage.And honestly, it’s just rude. Someone planned something, no matter how casual, and you should be there when they invite you. So stop the coy waiting around and just show up.Images via, via