9 Things You Miss About High School Parties

Sometimes, in my adult life, particularly on Friday nights when I'm home alone, working late in an ex boyfriend's t-shirt, no pants and some creepy leper-looking face mask, I miss high school. Not the tests and the acne and the institution of it, of course — but specifically, the high school parties.

I miss Friday nights when I was 17 and the world outside was just a myth. I miss the time when a job was just a means to an end — cash for infection-causing earnings from the mall or a frappuccino. I miss knowing that if there was someone I had a crush on, a Friday night house party would be the place to explore it. There was no need for missed connections or dating apps — all the people you crossed paths with would end up in the same parent-less house on a Friday night.

And there you'd drink from red plastic cups and break free from the chains of insecurity and uncertainty. High school parties were like investigative conventions. There you could test out friendships, theories, crushes, style transformations, attitudes, airs, moves. These parties were contained microcosms of the world. A place to test drive and dry hump and play adult. If only I knew then that being an adult would mean weeks without weekends and half-assed pajama sets. If your Friday nights are anything like mine, these are probably some things you miss about high school parties, too:

The Playlist

This was a big responsibility but an honor. If you were in charge of the playlist, you were basically the resident DJ. It was so much fun to pick out songs that you know would get people comfortable and close.

The On Point Dance Moves

Groups of girls loved to choreograph dance moves for parties. It was almost like an early mating dance for perspective interests who would nod along from the safety of the couch. My friends and I had a dance for every single Britney song there was.

Faux Freedom

Even though house parties tended to be in the houses of parents who were only gone for a night or two, we felt like we were living an adult life while we were there. Without parents hovering, we felt like there was nothing we couldn't do.

Sasha Fierce

After a few hours, alter egos would emerge. It was such a trip to see how the shy transformed into the life of the party and how the insecure grew confident.

Mall Tanks

Before parties, we'd go to the mall and buy tank tops to wear. Typically they were black with spaghetti straps. Maybe sequins were involved. Maybe beading. It depended how adventurous we were feeling.

Munchiepaloozas

Before we went to bed, we'd raid the kitchen and cook nonsensical snacks. Sometimes we'd order pizza, other times we'd bake cookies, all the times we'd put weird things in ice cream and eat it out of the container.

Mass Sleepovers

Having a sleepover with all of your friends when their parents aren't home was the most fun. We'd stay up until the crack of dawn, jump on the beds, eat pizza in them, and fall asleep in a pile like a den of lions.

Making Out

Making out with anyone was exciting at a party. It was almost a given that you'd have an opportunity to kiss someone or be kissed. It was just a matter of how confident you were feeling and how long you stayed.

Bacon, Egg & Cheese

The morning after a high school party was almost even more fun than the party itself. We'd all walk to the deli and get a breakfast sandwich and gossip about the night before. Somehow so much went on that everyone had a different version of the night. And somehow every Friday turned out to be epic.

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