Having Fun Doesn’t Have to Include Drinking and Clubbing Every Weekend

By Maawiya Mohammed

Resting, unwinding, and letting loose is an essential need that must be satisfied by humans. The human body requires rest considering huge chunks of peoples’ day is spent working. According to Andrew Naber, an industrial-organizational psychologist and data scientist, an average human being spends 90,000 hours of their life at work. That’s roughly 10.2 years of their life. In that period of time, one works for almost ten hours daily from Monday to Friday. That’s almost all your day spent at work. So, with this load of time spent working, human beings require time to unwind and relax.

Over time, the idea of having a good time has changed. In the past, simple activities like wrestling, dancing, and other games were some of the activities that were used by past African generations to unwind. On the other hand, Europeans in the 18th century used to flock to large cinema halls in huge numbers to watch plays and musical performances. The early 19th Century is when the idea of having fun started to change and gear towards getting high or intoxicated. Although there were traditional booze and liquor even before this time, they were reserved for special occasions like weddings, coronations, etc.

In the early 19th century, Americans had inherited a hearty drinking tradition. One reason for this heavy drinking was attributed to an overabundance of corn in the Western parts, which encouraged the widespread production of cheap whiskey. As time went by, this drinking habit was picked up by most nations around the world. That is why Fridays and weekends are now known as ‘party and raving’ days. Here in Kenya, they are known as ‘siku za kupiga sherehe’.

But why is it a must to have fun this way?
Why have people made it a norm to drink and club during the weekends? Why have people made it a tradition that must be observed such that they cannot wait for the date to read Friday so that we can bounce off to the club? With all the downsides of partying and drinking all night, people still do it every weekend. The headaches, nausea, stomach pain, and muscle aches that come with hangovers aren’t a deterrent enough for people to stop club hopping every weekend.

In most cases, the rush and surge of dopamine that people get when they drink every weekend is enough for them to be getting the hangovers. To most drinking, feeling high, and getting that sense of euphoria justifies the means they used to achieve that but in the real sense, it does not. People cannot put their health in jeopardy through the intake of harmful chemicals and substances and simply accept it as the price needed to pay for the little time, they will feel like they are in the sky. I am sorry but there is a lot at stake here. We all know the consequences of excessive consumption of alcohol, life-threatening diseases like liver cirrhosis, heart disease, cancer, etc. but people still continue to drink like there is no tomorrow every weekend.

Why do people put themselves at risk when there can be a lot of other fun things to do that do not bear the same health risks that alcohol and drugs do?
Painting, hiking, trying different cuisines, or steaking barbecue events outside the back garden can be some examples of fun activities to substitute clubbing. It doesn’t necessarily need to be what I say, but any other activity depending on you as a person. This way, people can avoid the many drawbacks associated with drinking themselves to oblivion every weekend.