I'm now entering towards the end of my secound year in Belfast and I've slowly started becoming more and more tired of the tedium of repetetive nights out. The most common venue I've visited over the last two years has been the student union on a thursday night.

Now, for the first 2 weeks, a year or so ago, I loved it. The drink offers were fun and it gave me a great oppertunity to meet other students and get to better know my (excellant) friends from halls. However over time this venue has become repetetive and tedious. Tomorrow me and my friends will all be going out and I know virtually exactly what will happen.

Predrink 10:00pm - 11pm, then arrive at the union, drink till mandela opens, the dance to the same songs we played last week, then Sopranas OR a very small chance Rain. Then home. The more we do this every Thursday the less exciting it becomes, the less new people we meet and the less we pull.

It's just not remotely exciting. Tonight after seeing scouting for girls, we decided to go to the Box. It used to be quiet a quiet but enjoyable, and cheap spot for a Wednesday night. Tonight however, the queue was huge. Once inside, you had to queue a good while to get a drink, then dance, rinse, repeat.

I just can no longer see the adventure in this. Recently, I've been persuaded to visit similar venues with my friends, but upoun entering, seeing how busy yet strangely impersonal it is. I just know it's not for me and leave. Often I just go home and regret ever paying in to leave a few minutes later.

Sometimes however, I try and take responcability for my own fun and go to a place like Tompsons on my own. Tompsons is a place most students would have quite a low opinion of, its often expensive (but can have great deals for a late night club), and has a very very strange crowd.

Go there on your own however, and you seriously never know what will happen. I've had some fantastic adventures in Tompsons and in similar places, often becuase I've rejected the popular spot for the night and tried to make my own fun.

Now it doesn't always work, but I'd father rather look a weirdo in somewhere new on my own right now than do the same old same old is the same venues with people I already know. And this isn't to deride my friends. They're an amazing bunch of people who I have a hell of a lot of fun with. But sometimes when you abandon the safety net of a familiar venue and the comfort of your friends, you can have an amazing time.


I'd highly reccomend trying it.