I was at a party last night. I'm sort of awkward around other people, so I don't really like parties, but I find that once I have ingested a suitable amount of beverages, sitting next to someone else, awkwardly not saying anything, is no longer awkward. For some reason, sitting there doing nothing is a perfectly satisfactory experience for me when I've had a bit to drink. While I am normally very awkward around other people, and can't really handle social interaction that well, drinking seems to make it all that more bearable, and I can even handle social situations to some extent. (Although, it might just seem like I am handling them, while I am actually being just as lame as always. In any case, it makes me not worry about the lame-ness and the awkward silences.)
I guess that is a rather unhealthy attitude, and I really shouldn't promote it like that, but I found parties to be a lot more bearable when I no longer had to sit in a corner and watch the others have fun.
I wasn't invited to a party (Excluding children's birthday parties) until I was 16, so I am sort of in the same situation as OP, actually. Except for the 'not drinking' part.
And I would also say: Yes, you should endure for the sake of the social norm. It isn't long since parties were a thing to be endured for me, but back then I still did endure them, because I realized I finally had a shot at a bit of social acceptance now that I was finally being invited to parties; as opposed to in lower secondary school, where I was a complete outcast.