About six years ago I was standing in an auditorium, hungover from the previous nights party, holding a pledge pin. The founder of our fraternity chapter, a forty year old man was reading a bunch of kids the induction speech. Take your fraternity responsibilities seriously. Uphold the creed and its values. In return this fraternity will help you grow into men and teach you important skills.

"Yea whatever", I thought. I'm just here to fuck sluts, do drugs and party. I'm really not here to uphold some creed written by some random southern dudes in the 1800's. I'm just here for a good time. I neither expect nor anticipate any lasting value from this debaucherus experience. As surprising as it seems, he was right.

So how did this miraculous boy to man transformation occur? In high school I was pretty uneasy about approaching and starting conversations with girls. However my fraternity expected me to bring two attractive girls with me to every venue party they had. Also being at a party and not dancing with a girl was a great way to look like a loser in front of a bunch of people. The fraternity created pressure for me to step up my game.

Yes, I fucked up alot. I fumbled through approaches, text messages and making sure the girl showed up with her hot roommate. I sucked at it for the first two years and eventually hit my stride. The fraternity created a need for me to adapt.

On the surface partying seems like a huge waste of time. The actual partying is. However the planning and marketing of the party, imparts valuable skills. Writing a 12 pager on a feminist topic for a class is a huge waste of time. However, learning how to placate an irrational cunt is a valuable skill. Bullshitting your professor on why she should raise your grade on a half-assed essay is an act of desperation. However, it serves as a great introduction to salary negotiation.

Life is full of lessons. Unless you go out and try new things, you will never have to adapt. Its not about the grade, the girl or the paper. Those things aren't important. Its about the experience that transforms you into a more complete person.