If you’re anything like me, and since the people reading this are most likely about seven of my Facebook friends (hi, Mom), I’m assuming you are at least somewhat me-esque, you probably enjoy sitting down to some good Netflix every once in a while . . . or every day . . . OK, maybe several times a day. Maybe your parents have told you to stop wasting all of your time on such a useless thing. You have schoolwork or chores to do; you have an Odyssey article to write (ha . . . I totally don’t procrastinate on those). The same goes for your Tumblr, YouTube, or television; all of these may be used as a distraction, but what about when they’re actually helpful? How much does the intellectual value of something matter when it brings you innocent joy?

Being a worrier (OK that’s an understatement; I am a warrior of worrying), television, books and films have always provided me with a way out. I choose to remember hard times not just by their difficulty but by the things that helped me through them. Hours of "sailor Moon" and "Pokemon" smother the anxiety speckled time of early adolescence. "Star Trek" dominates the hectic middle years of high school. I believe it was good ‘ole Winnie The Pooh who got me through those rough toddler years. They are remembered not with a regretful ache but with an appreciation. When you are depressed, anxious or simply stressed, sometimes just getting out of bed seems like an impossible obstacle. When I couldn’t do that, those stories were always there for me. Even when you have other things that need to be done, isn’t an hour laughing at Tumblr’s stupidest and funniest memes better than an hour of crying? That isn’t a waste of time, it’s an ingenious recycling of whatever energy you have to spare.

Now, I’m not saying you should shirk all of your responsibilities in favor of a binge watch of "Orange Is The New Black" (even if we are all excited for the release of season four), but when you need it, you know that Netflix will be there to distract or inspire you, to calm you orfire you up. That is, if you can decide what to watch.