I Am Not Ashamed For Loving 'The Bachelor' Franchise And It's Arguably The Next Great American Passtime

If you know me, then you know that I love a good reality show. Trash TV is one of my few guilty pleasures, and honestly, I attribute it to my mom watching "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" since I was like 7?

Anyway, out of all of the ridiculous television I consume on a daily basis, there is nothing greater than "Bachelor(ette)" Monday. I love being a member of Bachelor Nation, and I am here to tell you that I am not ashamed!

For those of you living under a "Bachelor"-free rock, the franchise is all about a single man or woman dating around 30 members of the opposite sex in order to find their soulmate. The goal of the show is for the Bachelor(ette) to find the love of their life and for them to get engaged at the end of the show. Seasons alternate between "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette," with my personal favorite iteration, "Bachelor in Paradise," airing in the summer.

A lot of people criticize the franchise for its message about love and the importance of finding a partner, but personally, I think critics take this show waaayyy too seriously. At the end of the day, this show is (kind of) about finding love, but is ultimately about entertaining millions of Americans on a weekly basis.

Personally, I think it is completely justified to de-stress to a nice episode of other people fulfilling (or destroying) their dreams of true love. The show is absolutely ridiculous and unrealistic, and that makes it that much better. Further, it really gives me confidence in my own friendships and relationships because, like, the amounts of drama in these episodes is out of this world.

The Bachelor: arguably the next great American pastime. I and so many others find infinite joy in watching these random 20-something-year-olds try to find love, and I am not at all mad about it. If this is the way you choose to de-stress, I'm right there with you. If you're a critic, maybe just try to take the show a bit less seriously because, after all, this show was designed to be a train wreck.