Back in college, I was slugging penny pitchers, bottomless brews, and $1 lemon drop shots, depending on the bar’s promo of the night. When I moved to New York City at the age of 22, I had the stamina (and, TBH, diet) of the pizza rat — if it also considered Coors Light a form of hydration.
Acclimating to a new city — especially one that never sleeps — involved a lot of saying yes. Monday night happy hour? In. Tuesday trivia? I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Wednesday dinner at a sushi spot that morphs into a full-blown nightclub at the stroke of midnight? Say less. I would happily reek of spicy tuna and sake at my desk the next morning.
Thursday Is The New Saturday
But going out hits different now. I’ve reached I’ll-only-go-to-the-bar-if-there’s-a-place-to-sit years old. I no longer want to squeeze into a way-too-tight bodycon dress. These days, pregaming looks like sipping sauvy B in a robe, not chasing warm vodka with the back-of-the-fridge Gatorade. But perhaps instead of sticking solely to weekend plans, I need to revive the Thirsty Thursday of my early 20s.
In fact, TikTok’s full-blown 2016 nostalgia revival has awakened the frat rat that still lives deep inside my soul. My FYP is flooded with nostalgia over Snapchat’s dog filter, jungle juice, and “Closer” by the Chainsmokers. It’s reminded me of a very important truth: Thursday is more than a precursor to the weekend. It deserves to be the main event.
Fridays and Saturdays come with expectations that rarely deliver: The pressure to “make the most” of the weekend creates a certain “we’re going to have fun if it kills us” energy. The combo leads to suffering through hourlong bar lines, Uber surge prices, and drunkenly tearing up when your situationship cancels plans at the last minute.
And no, it’s not just that I’m tired. (Although I am.) I’ve simply matured enough to see the truth: Friday and Saturday are a scam.
Sure, they’ve got better PR. (Monday should hire Saturday’s publicist.) Weekends let you recover without risking your job performance. But let’s not pretend the best nights — the ones that start “chill” and end in you drunkenly exchanging numbers with a girl you met in the pizza line at midnight because she feels like your soul sister — are the ones you planned meticulously.
They’re not. They probably never were. But Thursdays?
Thursdays are unserious. They’re unhinged. They have the same “anything goes” energy as a 2016 house party — uninhibited, fueled by bad decisions that you’ll be laughing about by lunch the next day. It’s frat party girl freedom with adult money.
It Always Starts With “Just One Drink”
For me, these nights often start small — plans for a low-key dinner with friends, followed by people-watching over a single round of $20 martinis — and spiral into excellent chaos. That’s how I once ended up at a private karaoke room with a celebrity tattoo artist who FaceTimed Justin Bieber and G-Eazy as my best friend and I screeched through their hits.
I’m not the only one. “One Thursday this past summer, I went over to a friend’s place for a girly night in with Love Island and a bottle of wine. We had zero intention of even going out, but after the episode (and a few glasses of wine), we decided there was no harm in grabbing one more out,” says Chloe, 29, a project coordinator.
Thursdays don’t ask for your best. They reward your ability to go with the flow.
Spoiler: There was more than one. “We wandered to a nearby bar in our sweat sets for a ‘quick drink’… which turned into two,” she says. “Next thing you know, we’re at a piano bar, belting ‘You and I’ by Lady Gaga to a crowd of three at 2 a.m.”
Flights, Not FOMO
Then there’s Parker, 30, an influencer marketing associate in New York, who had his own memorable Thursday night this past June. His night started early and innocent — and ended up in an entirely different state. “After our second or third drink, we thought a trip to Nashville would be fun,” he says. “What started out as a joke quickly turned into us looking up flights.”
They went home, tossed random clothes in a bag, and flew out that same night. They caught a few hours of sleep at a motel near the airport, and on Friday, they bar-hopped, ate barbecue, went to a Predators game, and visited the Country Music Hall of Fame. None of those core memories would have happened without Thursday night’s spontaneous events.
Respectfully, She’s Still Got It
Fridays and Saturdays can still have charm. In fact, once you stop worrying about “making the most” of the weekend, it becomes more enjoyable in general. Whether you ultimately decide to spend it in line for a buzzy new club or on your couch, that’s your prerogative.
Still, these carefree Thursday adventures can happen at any age. “I went out for a sophisticated dinner with my lifelong friends at a swanky Chicago restaurant, and it morphed into a 20-something throwback of total mischief,” says Jane*, 58, an implementation manager. “Cigarette bumming off cute college guys, peeing in an alley, and a 4 a.m. snack.”
Even if you live in a place where nightlife shuts down early, the best part of a Thursday night isn’t always the party. It can be the postgame. The debriefs go hard.
Zero Pressure, Peak Fun
That’s the thing about Thursday: It belongs to everyone. The fresh postgrads. The “we’re just getting one drink” girlies (liars). The PTA moms in retired clubwear. The chaos agents who will, without hesitation, chase a shot with an impromptu vacation.
Thursdays don’t ask for your best. They reward your ability to go with the flow. You probably won’t have a fresh blowout. Your “LBD” might stand for “laid-back drip.” You may still be marinating in self-tanner.
So go out. Or don’t! Stick to just one drink. Or end up in a karaoke room with a tattoo artist and a FaceTime to Bieber. There’s no pressure to manufacture the best night ever™️. That’s exactly why it might become one.
*Name has been changed
