Illustration by Arnie Bermudez

I've got a birthday coming up, number 20 to be exact. Though I probably should be happy to celebrate the fact that I've survived yet another year in this world, I'm not approaching the day with the same unbridled school-girl giddiness of years' past. Key word to describe my state of mind: indifference.

This indifference stems from the fact that age 20 doesn't bring much to the table in terms of rights or privileges. Age 20 pales in comparison to the last milestone birthday of 18, when you could vote like a fiend and legally buy all the porn and tobacco products that you wanted. Additionally, as another slap in the face, 20 still leaves you at stranded while older friends don their barroom best in the hopes of meeting some hottie on the dance floor and humping one another's legs like Jack Russell terriers.

However, consolation can be found in the fact that 21 looms right around the corner. In a little over a year, the doors to the Tucson nightlife will finally be open to me.

Yes, I am just one more step closer to coming home at some ungodly hour from a trashy dive, reeking of cigarettes and cheap beer.

Susan Bonicillo Columnist

Granted, I enjoy the traditional college house party just like anyone else. However, there's something infinitely more adult and mature in picking someone up at the counter of some tragically hip club than spitting your game over the host's collection of bobble head toys.

Yet, that day of total legality remains in the distance for some of us at the UA, which begs the question, what's an underage student to do for fun?

There's always the fake ID option. However, these take a toll on the average starving college student's bank account. You could always haggle with the price, but in most cases it will prove to be an exercise in futility. I once attempted to talk down the rather hefty fee. However, despite my brilliant and persuasive argument, negotiations for buying a fake on an installment plan were all for naught.

The charming, picturesque little town of Nogales, Mexico, offers the under-21 crowd a place to indulge in all the activities that it can't do in the good ol' United States of America.

Also, given the fact that you are in a different country, this effectively gives you a carte blanche. What goes on down there doesn't count. Just remember the cardinal rule: What happens in Mexico, stays in Mexico.

Or maybe a night at home is more your thing. In that case, I highly recommend board games. Try playing with extremely competitive friends. It makes the night seem less like a WASP-ish, suburban, middle-aged get together. If your game of Trivial Pursuit doesn't come down to exchanging blows or insulting each other's mothers, then it really wasn't a game at all.

Along the lines of mothers, try calling her every once in a while. Seriously. Getting my fill on the hometown news makes me feel like I've never left. For instance, knowing that my brother, who used to look down at me as intellectually inferior because he majored in philosophy and humanities, now lives in the basement and works as a sweater boy at the local Banana Republic always makes me feel better about myself. Maybe it can work for you.

Susan Bonicillo gives her best wishes to her brother as he tries to move up from the sweater department to pants. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu