When I hear the term “dinner party” I think of friends in their 30s eating and drinking around a large, nicely presented table. At 23, and after three years of living off campus, I’ve noticed that the parties have gone from 21st birthday blackouts, holes in the walls, houses getting trashed and people spewing Four Loko to recipe books, grocery shopping, communal cooking, microbrews and wine.

Lately, jokes about getting excited over new pots and how to make perfect mashed potatoes are more prevalent. The topics our mothers would discuss have crept into our conversations and it’s only the beginning.

There are still “nights we can’t remember,” and it’s not unlikely that drinking games will occur after dinner on Pasta Night; however, I know sooner or later these nights will end earlier because so and so has to wake up for their 9-to-5er.

Getting older has societal influences and demands; I’ve noticed in America that young adulthood has stretched out longer than past generations.

The early 20s have become a “forever young” period of time — who wants to grow up anyway? We have the rest of our lives to maintain a real job, acquire fancy things and commit to a steady relationship.

Last year I went to the eye doctor and he seriously asked me why I wasn’t married yet. I laughed. When my grandma was 23 she had two kids and one on the way.

I can’t imagine that scenario and feel comfortable with my limited responsibilities of paying bills, doing homework and working on the weekends.

According to the New York Times article “What Is It About 20-Somethings, “Sociologists traditionally define the “transition to adulthood” as marked by five milestones: completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying and having a child. In 1960, 77 percent of women and 65 percent of men had, by the time they reached 30, passed all five milestones.”

The case is not the same today in our economy; not everyone has the chance to go to college, so it is common to move back to the parents’ house post-graduation, and in some instances renting a place with roommates and going for a career works out.

I don’t consider settling down and starting a family at the top of my to-do list.

There’s nothing wrong with that situation, but I hear “Oh I’m moving to Portland, gonna sleep on my friend’s couch, maybe find a job or something” more than “I just can’t wait to spend thousands on my wedding and have a baby a year later!”

Personally, I’ll hold off on the nicely presented table of food and continue sitting in between friends on the couch, polishing off a 6-pack and eating something other than ramen.