Socializing can get tiring sometimes. I don’t drink, so I don’t have to worry about any throbbing headaches from weekend hangovers. But, after a long week of classes and exams and homework, I just want to curl up in my blanket and watch Modern Family with a cup of hot cocoa in my hand. Going out can be great and all, but honestly, I would much rather use that time to relax and recharge.
Of course, it takes skill to effectively bounce out of your plans to watch Scandal at home. You don’t want to look like a total flake, if you know what I mean. That’s where I come in -- I’m a pro at getting out of sticky situations with creative solutions. Here are a few of my foolproof escape plans.
1. Say that you’re tired to do anything at this point.
If people still insist, start crying and yelling, “Leave me alone!” until they back off. They’ll be too scared of you to deal with your emotional turbulence at that point, trust me.
2. Say that your best friend needs you and it’s a dire emergency.
Look down at your phone and say, “Oh God, my best friend just got dumped by her idiot boyfriend. I gotta go buy a tub of Ben & Jerry’s so that we can eat together while we cry over our hopeless love lives. My girl needs me.”
3. Blame your unestablished gym schedule.
“Oh, man, midterm season has totally messed up my fitness schedule. I haven’t been able to go to the gym for, like, two weeks. I’ll need to wake up early tomorrow so that I can work out for as long as I possibly can to compensate.” Yeah, right -- “workout.” More like trying to “work out” what you’re going to watch on Netflix tonight.
4. Blame your professor: “I have an exam tomorrow.”
Disclaimer: this only works if you’re meeting up with someone who doesn’t have the same classes as you or doesn’t know anyone in your classes -- that way, they can’t fact-check. At Berkeley, no one will ever question you when it comes to academics; that’s because we work hard and play hard.