After watching the latest episode of The Middle, it really got me thinking. This semester I have been pretty busy. When I’m not going to class, or work, or doing homework, or volunteering, I want to just do nothing. I want to relax and stay home and watch TV. I want a night in. It’s hard to do that sometimes when I have things planned for the weekend to either go home or be social. Don’t get me wrong, I love going home and being social, but when I finally have a free weekend or free night, I mostly want to just spend it inside and relax by watching TV.

However, I also feel incredibly guilty when I skip out on a get together or party others are having. I feel so guilty because I feel the need to be social but I also just want to relax. I feel there is so much pressure to be doing something on the weekends and if you don’t then you don’t have a life. But after reflecting on what Mike Heck in The Middle said to his teenage son Brick, I have had a lot of time to think about my situation. Mike Heck says, “You feel all this pressure to be social, go to the parties, hang out with the right people. It gets a little easier in your twenties. You can go out or stay home and when you’re fifty, you can just stay home.” For those who don’t watch the show, Brick is in high school now and just got picked up by Mike from his first high school party. He talks about how it went really well, but he all he could think about was when he could leave. Now I’m not saying that when I am being social, all I’m thinking about is how much I want to leave, no, not at all. I’m just saying that if someone feels like they need a night in, then I don’t see why there is so much pressure to be social. People feel so much pressure, especially in college, to go out or always have plans on the weekend and sometimes it’s just too much. I think society puts too much pressure on us to have the typical college or high school experience. So my point of this article is to emphasize the importance of doing what you really feel like doing. If you feel that you need some time to be by yourself, or have a night in do not push it. Don’t feel guilty. There is so much pressure to get good grades, get a job, be involved, AND be social. So do what you think is best for you, and I truly believe that will make you the happiest in the end.