Nobody Panic - How to Socialise Without Drinking

Episode Date: March 9, 2021

Stopped drinking in lockdown? Never been a drinker? Want to try out life without alcohol but worry you couldn’t get through a party without it? Stevie and Tessa wade through the minefield of drinking culture and discuss socialising without drinking.Want to support Nobody Panic? You can make a one-off donation at https://supporter.acast.com/nobodypanicRecorded and edited by Naomi Parnell for Plosive Productions.Photos by Marco Vittur, jingle by David Dobson.Follow Nobody Panic on Twitter @NobodyPanicPodSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/nobodypanic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, I'm Carriad. I'm Sarah. And we are the Weirdo's Book Club podcast. We are doing a very special live show as part of the London Podcast Festival. The date is Thursday, 11th of September. The time is 7pm and our special guest is the brilliant Alan Davies. Tickets from kingsplace.com. Single ladies, it's coming to London.

True on Saturday, the 13th of September. At the London Podcast Festival. The rumours are true, Saturday the 13th of September. At King's Place. Oh, that sounds like a date to me, Harriet. Puckety Panic and we're here to say, don't panic and it's going to be okay. I'm Tessa. I'm Stevie.

This is the podcast. It's a week opener, sure, but it's going to be a strong episode. I thought it was a strong opener, so it's going to be very weak episode. Thank you. Week like a non-alcoholic beverage. Yes, very good. Cheers to that, and I cheers you. with my tap water. This episode is all about how to socialise without drinking. So this one was actually

a suggestion that was written into us. We thought we really liked it. Yes, thank you so much, Priyanka, for emailing. It was a while ago. It was in September. And we've just got around to it now. We're very, very sorry. But hopefully, considering things are starting up again, socialising is sort of it's quite an anxiety inducing thing anyway. I'm fine. I'm, I'm, I'm still drinking, I think. I mean, I'm not really drinking very much, but I sort of still am. But I, I'm finding it quite just interesting in the sense of like, how will that be? Will I want to? Yes or no. Will it be the same as it was before? Not for a bit, I don't think. So if you're somebody who stop drinking has decided not to drink when things kind of come back up again or you've just never

drunk and you've always found it like a little bit like frustrating or anxiety inducing and then this is for you. So Priyanka says I don't personally drink for you to religious and health reasons but whenever there's an outing plan by other people it often involves drinking or smoking which are all places I don't really go to hang out. I don't know how to get people to come hang out elsewhere especially with fellow university mates. There's tons of fun things to do without the need to drink or be surrounded by people who are drinking. Usually it becomes really hard to gel with people and get to know colleagues or coursemates or people in general because they tend to bond over drinks. And yeah, I think that's, our society is so anchored by alcohol. And that can feel so hard to not feel alienated by that

and not feel like isolated from it. And like you're always like the other one being like, oh, not for me and having to explain all the time. Like, oh, I don't drink for it. well in Priyanka's case having to constantly be like I don't drink for her religious and health reasons like every single time like why should you have to explain why you're not drinking when no one else has to explain why they are and so I completely I completely get it and as I say quite a lot of people have used quite a lot of people haven't but quite a lot of people have used this kind of lockdown situation to sort of notice things about themselves maybe notice habits that have been quite unhealthy and gone like for example maybe I won't drink as much

alcohol or like maybe I should like every single time I go out I don't have to drink and now that is actually becoming it's easy to do that on Zoom but now that that's becoming like a real life I'm going to be in a pub situation you could your resolve might be um just weakening a little bit or you might be a little bit worried I think yeah it's a really it's a really interesting one um before we dive in shall we do our adult things of the week and this is at the most um the most adult thing we've done and they can be small or large. Look, I've got, and all good stories start with this, I've got an extension cable, you know, one of the little sort of like long, the rose. And there's loads of wires going in and out and blah. And so I bought one of those like boxes

so you could not hide it, so it looks neater. Lovely. And also, it is a practical thing because I do have a little tortoise and she climbs over everything. And she's not allowed in the bedroom, but she gets in there because she's figured out how to open the door. Anyway, the point is, is that I was terrified, I was terrified a little claw would go into the little plunk thing and she knew little, and she'd do let your kids off and die. So I bought that to kind of stop that from happening. But, you know, it looks very, it looks very neat. But whenever I do look at it, I do think like, oh, good Lord, right, Stevie, he's at the level we're at now. That's, you know, but safety. And the artist, yes. Yes, yes, I'm very much at that level. What's yours, Tessa?

Mine is quite, mine is, well, ready yourself. Mine is, on Friday, I start my training to be, Oh my God, what? To be a volunteer vaccinator for the vaccine program. That's right. Initially, I just signed up to do the meet and greet, and I thought, you know, I could do a type five for the queue, you know, keep morale, hi, get some, holes in. And then as I went through the process, they were like, do you want to also do the

administer the vaccine? And I was like, is that a joke? Of course not. Like, what, you're just letting, surely just you're letting doctors do that. And they were like, no, no, literally anyone is being allowed to doing the vaccine. Oh, that's good to know. But you might not pass. So I might not get it. But I've done my, um, my online training. I've got 100% certificate. Thank you. So you have to know all these questions about how the vaccine works. And then on Friday, I start my training. It's 22 hours long, so I don't think that just any old person's allowed to have a needle. And then at the end of that, I'll either be just meet and greet, or I maybe will be one of the, one of the, one of the, one of the vaccinators. Oh my God. If I go get my

vaccine and it's new. And it's me. Well, I even said that in my interview. I was like, I think if I saw me with the needle I'd leave. Oh, I'm not. I was going to say I'd be an absolute delight. Oh, that's right. Oh, thank you. Okay. You do a little like podcast. while it's happening. Right? That would be fun with it. And then my adult thing would be getting the vaccine and yours would be administering it to me. Brilliant. Well, thanks with that boost of confidence. Very exciting though. Well, yeah, I am. Thank you. I am excited. I just felt so useless and helpless and I just wanted to be, but also if you don't do needles, but you do want to do and just be helpful, you can just Google some John's Ambulance volunteer and there are so many things you can do

that you can just like go down and help in the queue or like, or do anything. Lovely. Let's talk about going out and not drinking. Let's talk about it. I'm not somebody who, like I said earlier, I'm not somebody that doesn't drink. But I also am aware that every time I go out, I have to have at least one. I've sort of thought about that a lot

because of not anything on. So you think of a lot about your things and yourself. Oh, my God. Just constantly reliving things you said in year nine. Yeah. Oh, man. Oh, no. And I would really like to be in a place

where I can like go to someone's birthday party or go to something. And, and, you know, the amount of times I've been like, I don't really feel like drinking or I've got something on the next day. I just haven't gone rather than just go and not drink. Like it's, it's such a strange, I know that, you know, you might be listening being like, Stevie, you've got a massive problem. Fine. And but I sort of feel like I, I feel like I, I do sort of balance it quite well. I don't really, you know, alcohol doesn't really, I'm not like, I don't feel dependent on it. But obviously, socially, I am a little bit. And so I would really like to be in a position where I can just be like, oh yeah, I just won't drink rather than be like, yeah, but how will I speak? And also as well, to be honest,

it's not that. It's more, it's more what Priyanka was saying, which is just like, it's not the actual drinking. It's the culture around it. Yeah, and feeling like you're not involved. And that's such a problem anyway in terms of, you know, in various industries, if you're often, And if you're like a woman in a male dominated industry, all the lads go out for a drink. Or it's like, there's like, it creates like sort of tribalism like, oh, we're here and you're not. And you can feel really left out.

But I always think back to my friend Ben, who during the years where most of our friendship groups smoked, he would come out with us and like just be in a smoking area with us and like, chat. And like, I was never once like, it's so weird that Ben's in the smoking area and not. smoke. I just thought it was nice. It's always more about you than it is about the person who's not drinking. Like if you, it's the reason that out the people who drink alcohol can, it will ever make you feel bad for not drinking. It's because they, you've made them feel weird about their choices. So as a person who does drink, when someone who I know doesn't drink comes out, I never feel like,

oh, you're an idiot for not drinking. And if you were made to feel like that, it's so difficult. because it would just like ruin your night. It would just be like, oh, for God. And that's why I would always have one, even if I'm not drinking, because I can't be bothered dealing with the, why aren't you drinking? Every single second. Do you want to drink? Oh, you're not drinking?

I don't want to talk about it. I think there's so much to an unpack, especially with our British culture of drinking. We are so like, yeah, yeah, yeah, this is a problem, isn't it? You're like, yeah, we're saying it. This is really bad, and no one acknowledges it, and there is so much to unpack that people would feel uncomfortable going out to the pub because they weren't prepared to answer the questions about why they weren't drinking.

Like, that is so, that's huge. That's such a indictment of our society, how, what a mess we're in. I will say it, I like Ben, not smoking, like if you do do it with confidence, nobody gives a shit. I, mine is purely monetary. Like, I didn't drink for a long time, purely because I couldn't afford it. What was my moniker? tap water tessa. And nobody,

well, maybe they were, well, when they were bullying me to my face, I suppose. All I used to get was a soda water

and a fresh lime because if you've got a pit, and then I would say, and two straws please, that was in the days before we knew straws were bad. Yeah. But once you've got two straws

in something that's sparkling with a piece of lime in it, ain't nobody questioning what you're drinking. So no one ever really questioned me about why I wasn't drinking. If I did, I would be like, I'm very poor.

What do you want from me? Yes. A 12-pound cocktail, even though obviously I want that porn star martini. But I think if you, so I am saying, from experience, it is extremely possible to just own it and be confident. And I say that as somebody who is aware that I never needed a social lubricant. And I am aware that I really lucked out with that. But I'm like, oh, yeah, I'll come. Like, I don't mind being sober on the dance floor.

Like I wasn't. And I'm so aware that that's not the case for the majority of people. But I think that's something that we, that's one of those things that we accept as people and go, oh, I can't do that without drinking. And actually when you unpack that, wouldn't it be great if instead of just going like, oh, I can't do that without drinking, you go, I'd like to, I'd like to do that without drinking. Yeah. Why can't I? Well, that, you know, I'm just taking myself as the thing. Like, I'm increasingly lesser as I get older, but throughout my 20s, you know, very insecure, very low self-esteem. Had a stutter, felt like a, I'm just a lot. I felt like a, I'm. I'm increasingly. I'm. I'm increasingly less. I was a little self-esteem. Had a sudden. I had a stutter, felt like a lot. I felt like a lot. I was couldn't speak, like felt like I never really fitted in with the parties, felt too tall, felt too strange. And it's like, well, that's what I had to work on, not drinking more. Like, that's, and so actually if I hadn't, I think I masked a lot of the things that I started to work on when I was like 30, well, late 20s or early 30s, I would have done a lot better

identifying those things earlier on, rather than masking them by being like the fun party drinking Stevie, which is like, I was like, she'll come, she'll vomit. her own hat and she'll scream a lot and everyone will be like what a legend like that that's fun but like that really be fun no i don't say i'm having a great time but that can't be your personality because that isn't a personality that is like a thing you're doing so it's actually even if you do drink a lot or or you do drink and you're like i'm fine but you could never consider going somewhere without alcohol i think it's just in and of itself a really good thing to learn how to do just to grow as a person because we should all comfortable with our friends regardless of whether we're drinking or not. And if you don't, then

why? You know, why is that? Drill down into that, you know, people will ask you why, why aren't you drinking? And you have to be aware that people are going to do that. It often feels like you're not in control of all situations and that the people that you're with dictate whether or not you're comfortable or not, but you fully dictate whether you're comfortable or not. So if you, people are going to ask you, like, don't lie, because that's ridiculous. You can get drinks as and like, you know, have drink, always have like a drink with you so that it's sort of like minimise the questions constantly. But like, I'm talking about like an alcoholic drink. I'm like, get a wine and just hold it. I don't mean that. Just have it. Because if you, yeah, if you are sat in the pub, like sort of sat on your hands, it's not accusatory even though it will sound like that. But people will say like, can I buy you a drink? Because they'll, you know, they, for whatever reason. And so do have, you know, if it's just a water or a soda or something. Or a diet Coke or something. Yeah, fine. hope or something, like do have something just so you don't feel so much of a lemon. But just to come back to your point about feeling like, I'm only fun if I drink, that is such

a lie that we tell ourselves. It's not a magic elixir. You are, you still did all those things. You are still fun. You just have tricked yourself into believing you're only able to do that in certain situations. You're completely capable of doing them sober. It's actually very fun sometimes to with people who are drunk and you're not because you've realized that like you start losing your inhibitions a bit as well like you're having fun as well because they're talking shit so then you can talk shit no one's really going to they're not going to remember what you've said either like even even though you're sober it could be quite free it's difficult sometimes to get people to do things that aren't all about drinking but increasingly what I've sort of started to see is and this sounds like

really lame, but there are, like, quite a lot of things that where drinking is optional. Mini golf or, like, crazy golf or, you know, there's, like, bars and stuff that are, like, bowling or, like, things like that are going to the cinema. Things are that where you can get alcohol if you want, but you don't have to. Those sorts of things are, and also as well, like, you might feel like you can't do anything with your friends that isn't drinking, but you can. It's just that you're feeling, you're feeling the difference, like, you're feeling. feeling like you can't suggest that. So there are so many things. Like also the thing is,

is meeting up in the evening, going for dinner, that you're there to eat food. That is primarily what you're there for. People will drink and you can't stop them drinking. But that's not what the main focus of this is. It's actually like hanging out. Whereas I suppose if you go and meet in a pub in the evening, then that's different because that is very much focused on drinking. But if you involve food, then suddenly, you know, you've got something to enjoy there as well. You're not just sat there with like, you know. I think with the pub, I think it's just about shifting that attitude to be like a pub is like the original name. So then we're just like the meeting house. Like they're just a place to hang out that happens to serve alcohol. So I think that's the, that's the thing of like,

going to the pub can be like, we just want to sit with our friends. Maybe there's a roaring log fire. Maybe we're all just hanging out. So as long as you haven't got it in your head that like, oh, this is a place for drinking. It's not a place of drinking. It's a place for chatting. People don't go to these places and sit, I mean, sometimes they do and sit alone, but like, primarily they are a meeting house for friends to hang out. And it's no really different than sitting around the kitchen table having a cup of tea, you know, it's, it's just that you had to get dressed for this with what experience. And university is especially hard though, Prianka, and also like, anyone listening here was at university, like, I mean, when I was at uni, personally, and also

that that was a long time ago. So it was when, like, I think drinking, was even worse, yeah, it was impossible to find anything that wasn't to do with drinking. Unless you did sport or you found people who, and you can always find people who aren't into that stuff and then you'd hang out with them. But yeah, it was very, the thing is, is it gets better. Like, as you get older, as you move through life, there are more and more things that you can do that aren't drinking. The university is especially sometimes difficult because things seem to be fully set up for just taking shots out of someone's belly button. You're like, why are we doing this?

Yeah. What are we doing? All of this is the same thing ever and over again, but it is fully your perspective. And it's whether you allow this to make you feel uncomfortable because it's very much on them. It's very much, if anyone is making you feel uncomfortable about not drinking, that's on them. The constant questions of like, are you not drinking? Why aren't you drinking? you can decide whether you how to deal with it.

It's a pain in the ass being asked all the time or comments being made or like jokes being made, especially if you're a guy as well. Like if you're a girl, you can almost sort of get away with it, but better if you're a guy, then you're like, masculinity is taken and it's ridiculous. And there's got like my boyfriend doesn't drink and the amount of times we've been in a holiday and I've ordered like a cocktail, he's ordered like, I don't know, a hot chocolate or something. And they always come the other way around. And then when they turn it around, they make a shitty comment.

about it, like, oh, okay. And you're like, wow. What is your... How dare you? Like, what does I even mean? Also, for all you know, he's not, but for all you know, he's like a recovering alcoholic. Just like how, he could have a terrible problem. It's insane that a man ordering a hot chocolate demands someone to be like, all right, your big girl's blouse. Be like, why did it become this compulsory, just this insane drinking culture that we're like, you have to get absolutely bladded and that's your any way. Well, I think it's to do with, oh my God, I saw recently this, somebody writing that the reason there are so many pictures of men

holding fish on Tinder. Okay, okay, yeah. Oh, I see what you mean like they've gone fishing. They've gone fishing. They're just like holding a fan of tuna. Holding a fish they have caught on Tinder is because that is one of the very few examples in which men are able to ask for someone to take their photograph and to proudly have their photo taken. I was like, holy shit. Like this is weird. There's so much here. There's so much

damage of like how we- Some misgendered nonsense. And also as well, it's tied into so much more things. It's tied into like classic stuff if you order one thing and you shouldn't be ordering that. It's also as well, I'm sure people who don't drink for religious reasons for me get like so naft off by the response of people who aren't religious to that and like, you know, people wanting to kind of strike up interesting debates about that actually. Like, I don't want that to be debated. I just, I just came along to hang out with you. Why are we now debating whether I should be drinking or not? Like, everyone has a comment. With the only way to deal with it is by, if someone asks you, you just answer, you just literally like, just give them like a sentence answer and then

move it on. Move on the conversation. Move it on. And if someone is persisting, it's very simple to just sort of be like, let's not talk about this. It's something else that's boring. And then just move on because the more you talk about it, the more it, then you are create, both of you are creating this kind of thing. There doesn't need to be there. It is just about that, about the confidence of being like, this is my decision. I'm completely capable of joining in with all the activities. I'm fun and I don't need this thing and it's not a big deal and I don't, like, it's not an

important and it's not a big deal. And we don't need to talk about it. The most good looking boy I've ever known once revealed, this is at university. he was a virgin which again like all this you know talk about masculinity and all of this stuff

that is the sort of thing that if it was true for so many people but everybody kept it quiet like that was something you didn't reveal you reinvented yourself and you invented like several

sexual partners that you'd met you know at school oh I've seen a penis oh yes and that was a whole of university everyone just just doing that and so I met this boy

who was like I'm a virgin and he said it so, I mean, I've done it badly in the presentation, but he said it so coolly and so calmly and so like as though he was like, oh yeah, I like cheese or, oh yeah, I'm from Ken. I've not sex. I haven't been to France before. I haven't been to France. I haven't had sex.

I've never seen Star Wars. You know, like these were just like, it was said so casually and coolly. I was genuinely like, that's the most, that's the most arousing thing I've ever seen. I was just like, oh my, it really changed. my perspective or my confidence in myself. Not specific, I don't think I was a version at the time. Because I think I'm, I'm going to say, I think I'm there. I totally wasn't. I know, I'm still doing it like 32. Yeah. Not me. Thank you very much. Right. Maybe it was even about that. My whole attitude to like to sex and to anything that you hadn't done that

normally you'd lie and pretend that you had or you'd, or you'd make up a reason or you'd, you know, you'd say, I'm on, I'm on antibiotics. I'm not drinking. You know, you'd make up all these pretend things. This person's so coolly and kind of. calmly saying like, yeah, this is a thing I've decided not to. There's no, there was no further discussion. The conversation just ended. No one, no one could be like, there was nothing to say. We're just silent silence. Being aroused. Wow. So I guess if you can be, what I'm saying is, like, if you can be that boy and just be the confidence in yourself to be like, yeah, it's nothing to do with you. It's nothing to do. You are nothing to do with me. These are my decisions. I've not

been to France. I don't drink. Like, it's not a big deal. Yeah. It can feel very like, and I'm very aware that it sounds like that there's a lot of onus on you, the non-drinker, to make the drinking people feel comfortable. And I don't want it to sound like that. But at the same time, you, unfortunately, if you are opting into this kind of,

this delightful society that we've built here in the United Kingdom, can't speak for other countries, because I've lived in them, then unfortunately that is something that I wish was different and we wish was different and you wish at home the non-drinker was different but it isn't and you can't unpack everyone's problems with alcohol and why people respond like they do but the only thing you can control in any given situation is yourself so if you make the sort of packed with yourself that you're going to not see these things as like drinking activities not so even going to the pub it's not a drinking activity it's it's chatting yeah and yeah okay they're getting drunk and yeah there will be a point in the evening where the conversation where you're unable to have the sort of conversations that you want to have but then you know at that point then you know if you want to go home you go home like it's not like again it's not like a oh i've got to go home because my friends drink it's that like you're tired you want to go home like

that that's okay you're not missing out on anything and i think it's it's a long process and it will be a continually long process it's never going to change so the only thing that can change is yeah your approach to it and your ways of just kind of like get involved and you removing the fact that you don't drink out of the social equation. Yeah. And it's the end of the chapter not, it's not the opening. Feeling apologetic and feeling like you don't have a right to be there because you're not drinking. Feeling like everyone else is in this like drinking club that you're not involved. So they think you're weird. They'll only think your other or isolated if you isolate yourself. If you take a step forward, then if they're your friend, they will also take a step

step forward. And also they see that you are making an effort and which you are because you want to see them hanging out with them. Then they'll make an effort to kind of like go for coffee with you, come for lunch with you. When they're hung over, you can all go for brunch. Like you don't have to drink in every situation. There are so many other things to do that as you get older, it becomes easier. Yes, at university it's difficult. But if you want to, if you want to like hang out with your friends, then, you know, clubs and stuff are obviously a difficulty. But that doesn't mean you like drinking. That just means you don't like clubbing and that is so fine. I hate, hate clubbing and and again, you're meant to feel like you should. And it's really set up as a, it's the

funnest thing in the world. And then secretly people like, I absolutely hate this. And it's like, increasing people like, do you think we only go clubbing so that we can leave and then get takeaway on the way home and bitch about it? Like, that's what people are in it for. Right? So don't feel different that you don't like those things. Like loads of people don't, don't like that. I think it's very normal. And especially, and it's like, set up a sort of forced front of being like, this should be the coolest thing in the world. You're like, it doesn't feel cool or good. I don't like it. I wish we were just chatting in the kitchen. That's what growing up is. And also you can be any age to grow up, like the idea of

being like actually like, like, you know, last year and I was like, oh, I don't have to finish every book I start because it's only me reading it. I don't want to finish this book, so I'm going to stop. Like that took me till I was like 31 to figure out how to do that. Like if you don't like doing something, you just don't have to do it. And there's a real power on that. And you, your friends won't desert you because you don't want to go to a club every Friday and get shit-based. If anything, they will talk about you 10 years later on a podcast where they say that you claiming you didn't like something confidently was the most arousing thing they'd ever sing. And I stand by it. Like, I've known so many extremely cool people who didn't drink or who didn't do something that was a norm and who took so much ownership of that.

I was like, wow, a god walks among us, you know? Like that confidence radiated into everything else. they did. There is a person who just knows themselves and isn't prepared to be less of themselves for anyone else. You're like, oh my God, I want to be around that. The first date I ever went on with my now boyfriend, I ordered a massive thing of wine and he ordered a glass of milk. And I thought it was the coolest thing. And then we just continued. But yeah, that's the thing. Like, if he'd said, if he on that first date had gone, like, it's okay with you if I get some milk. You'd be like, you're mad what like there's no way you'd be seen in a relationship but but him being like uh and a milk

please without any without any it was funny any question about what your opinion is on the milk it's like he wants the milk he's having a bloody milk you're like yes i respect that so much that's that i also like like the idea that if he said like it's okay if it's the milk that relationship would just dead dead in the water you're never coming back from that no it's not really about the milk is it it's about it's not about the drinking it's not about any of the these things. It's about, about whether or not you've, who gives a shit, whether, what age you do or don't have sex? Like, it's about your own belief being like, these are my decisions and I have ownership of them. They have not been forced on by anybody else. And I'm not going

to change my behaviour because of how it makes you feel. I give a shit. Yes. And also, I won't make you feel bad. No one has to make anyone feel bad in this, in the scenario. We all just can have fun together, right? And that is so hard to, it's very easy to say. It's very hard to do, but it's something that if you start now and you really lean in, then you can have just as much fun as anyone who's drinking. Like, you control your own life and don't let anyone else make you feel like you can't. And I hope that helps Priyanka. I wish there was like, you know, I wish there was a way of being like, okay, so top five things.

But there kind of isn't. They're all so nebulous. And also the whole thing is just like such a tangled mess of unpacking that we can't answer them. and to an extent, like, you know, you can't be like, have you tried this late-night activity? Yeah. Go bowling every time. The world isn't set up in that way and you can't bowl,

you can't bowl five nights a week, you know? As long as you just suggest you ask you to be like, hey, it's just hanging out and I can hang out. And I, you know. Weeding out the people that make you feel bad. They're not your friends. Like, they are not good friends if they make you feel bad. And yeah, you can do it.

You can do it. You can do it. Stone Cold sober. but you can have a fun all time. You don't have to feel that the alcohol is a gatekeeper to the fun. The fun is there if you're prepared to have the fun. Yeah, and if you don't like doing any of the things, that's because you don't like doing those things.

It's not about the drinking. So then it is about finding, you then need to find the things that you do enjoy doing and the people that you can enjoy doing those things with. If those people won't bend for you, then you shouldn't have to bend so constantly for them. So that's a bigger question. And there are, yeah, I hope it helps.

Yeah, and there are nine billion people in the world. Like, just because you haven't found your tribe on your corridor at university, like, your tribe is out there. Oh, yeah. Big time. They'd be tribe. And they be hating the club. And they be hating the club. I hate the club sometimes.

I hate the club, too. Sometimes, and sometimes it's quite fun. I need, like, so much space to express myself, you know? I need, like, such a specific club with a specific music and really enough place to move. Anyway, that's a tangent. But thank you so much, Priyanka. And if anyone else has a suggestion that you'd like us to tackle, please do email us, Nobodyopacpodcast at gmail.com,

or tweet us, Nobody PanicPod. Say hello to me. I'm at Stevie M. The S is a 5. I'm at Tessa Cote. You've got any other suggestions about this podcast or suggestions for future podcasts? We'd love to hear them.

We've always liked to hear from you. Hear from you. Just have a lovely week. And don't worry, when all of this, when it comes back and everyone starts going out again, there is going to be a little bit of a weird transition period where maybe you'll want to go home a little bit earlier than you normally would and maybe you'll have a little bit of a panic. Maybe a cry. But we're going to get back into the groove slowly, baby. That's what we're going to do.

And it's going to be fine. And the nice thing about this is you get to make your own groove. You're coming back out of this. You can do your own thing. I delight to have my own groove. I can't wait. But yes. And, yeah, best of look with your vaccination training, Tessa.

Um, goodbye, everyone. Bye, everyone.