Why I Go Downtown [and why you're missing out if you don't!]

This weekend has been pretty eventful. I went to the driving range and actually saw some improvement in my shots. I also ran Race for the Cure, which is the largest foot race in NC, drawing about 24,000 participants. I ran it in 25:48, which is my best time since I've taken up running again, though my high school self would balk at that time. The race raised $2 million for breast cancer research, which is awesome of course. I also saw The Hangover tonight.. hilarious, I'd recommend it. I haven't used a bicycle in years but Saturday I got the sudden urge to buy one. About 2 hours later I was the proud owner of a new mountain bike.. I was advised not to make any 'rash' purchases when I told a friend I was considering buying it but I'm thinking I'll get some decent use out of it. Anyway, enough with the weekend update. You know, it's no secret that I like to go out on the weekends. In fact, most weekends don't feel complete if I don't. I think a lot of people, or at least some, view such behavior as something that correlates to 1) immaturity, 2) being single, and/or 3) some level of being an alcoholic. While it's true that such assumptions apply to many people that regularly go out (and I'm guilty of being single, I won't claim that's not a big reason why I go out), I've always known that a lot of it for me is just being out amongst friends and meeting new people. I think last night while I was walking across downtown on a quest to get some of the best nachos I've ever had I further narrowed it down.

I never know what's going to happen when I go downtown. I go out because I love the variety of experiences. I love not knowing what the night has in store. Here's the problem with NOT going out: Although some people substitute 'going out' with other social activities, oftentimes the alternative is staying at home or spending time with a good friend. That's great and important, but when I stay home I know with pretty good certainty what the night will bring. How is that interesting? Part of what makes life awesome is that we don't know what it has in store for us. As human beings, we are instinctively social creatures. In general, we thrive on social interaction. Social interaction is vital to experiencing randomness in life. Meeting people not only makes life interesting, it expands your network. It's amazing the cascading effect that meeting just one person can have in your life. If you've never thought about it, I'd highly encourage you to. The most seemingly insignificant decisions are the ones that change the rest our lives. We make hundreds or thousands of them a day, so odds are at least one of them is going to have a significant effect on your life. The decision to go to one restaurant over another, to walk left or right in a crowded concert, to arrive at a place at one time or five minutes later: those are the decisions that can change your life. Think about it. For example, when I got offered the job I have at IBM I was asked when I wanted to start. The recruiting manager made a passing comment about how other people were taking a month off after graduating to go to Europe. I didn't end up going to Europe, but I decided to wait a month before starting. The start date I chose determined which orientation session I went to. The friends I met there became the foundation for many of the friends I have here today. If I didn't choose the start date I chose, I would not have the friend base I have now and I would not be living in the apartment I have now and would likely not be writing this blog.

I'll give an example of something that happened this weekend to illustrate my point. Last weekend, my friend Joe and I went to a bar nearby for a few minutes where we befriended our waitress. When we were downtown at a concert last night, we saw the waitress a few yards off (small odds since there were a few thousand people present). She gave us free passes to the after party, which determined the bar we went to after the concert. There, I saw her talking to a group of guys. I decided to join in the group for no particular reason because I'd become bored with whatever I was doing at the time. Within a few minutes, I discovered that the guys lived a couple doors down from me in my building! Now I know some neighbors that I would have likely never met if Joe and I had not sat at the table we did a week before. I also would not have ever met them if I did not have a desire to 'go out' nearly every weekend!

When I first moved here, Raleigh's downtown nightlife was... so-so. I went out, but more rarely, because it wasn't that exciting and the odds of meeting someone interesting was much lower than what I was used to in Clemson. There was a lack of vibrancy. Fast forward two years and the difference between Raleigh now and then is substantial. There is a vibrancy and level of excitement in the downtown that was fairly non-existent two years ago. As Raleigh is now the fastest growing city in the country, I expect for the trend to continue. I look forward to it and the energy and opportunities it will bring. I thoroughly believe that a vibrant nightlife is crucial to a healthy downtown and a healthy city full of many opportunities.

Some say that the course of one's life is determined by fate and some say by choices. I say it's a combination of the two, but there is no doubt that it is largely determined by one's choices. The more time you spend at home the fewer choices there are to make and the less chance you allow yourself for opportunities and an interesting life overall. If the nightlife isn't your scene, then so be it. There are other opportunities to network. However, if you're just sitting at home, you're missing out. Friendships, business deals and experiences that will last a lifetime are being created while you're sitting at home watching re-runs of Jeopardy.