I really do feel you. Having recently graduated and taken up research full-time at the moment, I had these exact thoughts in college as well. And I understand it's difficult to convey what you're feeling, or at the very least it seems like few would understand precisely how you feel, because it feels like it's just you doing your own thing but the majority of other folks seem to be operating on a different frequency altogether– so how would you understand each other? How would you/other people judge whether what you're doing… is normal?

I think I went through college "missing out" on key events by choice, and my friends and I were pretty cool with it. Most importantly, I think I was okay with it because of the illusional comfort that I got knowing that I could join in whenever I wanted to. But in the end, I would always just commit myself to my work and "truly investing in myself."

However, I will say that, on a practical level, shit hits the fan when you graduate. Your friends disperse across the country and globe, people embark on real careers and have real responsibilities and be busy – as will you. I warn that an attitude of 'fuck it, it's alright to miss out' will become habit after college, and there is a fundamental loneliness that comes with, say, living on your own in the city after college, and it doesn't help if you have an inclination (forged by habit) to say "no thanks, I have stuff to do."

Personally and thankfully, I think I spent my last year in college taking baby steps. A friend tells me that it would really, really mean the world to her for me to go her house party on a weekend when I had a metric shit-ton of work. I carved out the time and went, had a good time, and I still got everything done afterward.

Over time, I think I was able to feel comfortable in my skin going out every now and then having fun, not feeling guilty, but confident that I could go out, have fun, and still meet my responsibilities to the highest standards. (That being said, I still wouldn't consecutively pre-game, go to a multi-hour football match, and stay up late partying, simply because at that point it's just not in my personality/energy reservoir to keep up with that kind of rigor – to each his/her own!)

In short, it gets easier, if you take baby steps and if it's something you actually want to engage in. As I said, I recommend it, because life gets real after college and an inclination to say "no thanks" to any kind of invite can lead to hardship, like loneliness.