What do you do when the party gets to be too much for you? How do you stop yourself from looking like the biggest fool? For some people, it's not hard to sacrifice your dignity for the sake of your friends' happiness. A party could be heading straight to the boring category until you come and drink everyone under the table literally. It's really hard to say where the line between normal and party animal begins. All I know is that once you cross it, you're in Animal House territory and you can never go back to being a normal partygoer. Everyone will expect you to make a drunken spectacle of yourself every single time until you pass out. That isn't a way to live, or party.

Keeping your self respect at a party is hard when everything alcohol is at your disposal. Learn how to be an oberver before partaking in anything that'll impair your better sense of judgement. Survey the bar for the least impairing drink to start with and slowly go from there. I've always been told by others to stick with one type of drink for the entire night, but it gets boring and expensive drinking the same thing repeatedly. I only mix drinks to an extent to make my night a little interesting for me and to shock others. I'm not really the partying type, so when I do it really surprises people.

The last time I went to a function was the day my last place of employment was open. Everyone went to the nearby bar because we were all unemployed. Let's just say I made a total fool of myself. I ended up getting so blooming drunk that I was pole dancing. (Nothing racy or anything. Even when I'm three sheets to the wind, I know better than that.) I was just swinging around the pole going "Weeee." That was embarassing enough. Once I got sober I did a ton of cringing over my behavior. I guess the tequila went right to my sense of dignity and washed it away. I drank like a sailor that night only to feel like I was hit by three large trucks the next day. I didn't want to get out of bed or do nothing. I just groaned like Lurch from the Adam's Family with the worst hangover I've had in years. Never again.

Keeping control of your worst impulses are hard once your inhibitions have left for the night. Try to hang around with your designated driver in order to keep yourself grounded. Ask them if what you're doing is too much or not. Think before you drink. Do you have plans tomorrow with your grandmother or parents? Don't get so sloshed that you can't take your grandmother shopping. Be responsible enough to know when to step away from the bar. Mix things up by being the designated driver instead of the drunken passenger. Learn to have fun without a drink in your hand every once in a while. Moderation is the key to having fun and prevent yourself from doing some drunken pole dancing.

In the end, the biggest perk of responsible partying is avoiding the nasty hangover you'll get the next day if you party too hard. Be careful whenever you have your good time.