The zombie apocalypse, a terrifying occurrence where thousands die and hundreds hypothetically prepare for, is not an event that should be feared as much as it is. While the very idea of the potential apocalypse drives fear into people, no doubt resulting from the countless television adaptations such as The Walking Dead, Zombieland, and Dawn of the Dead, there is a benefit to this international holocaust-like epidemic.

As the global population continues to grow at a rate that our planet cannot hold, the only possible resolution is a mass epidemic. Many people joke about a plague; the zombie apocalypse is the answer. Being ultimate test of “survival of the fittest,” the zombie apocalypse is sure to greatly reduce the amount of the Earth’s population. There may be a thousand undead creatures for every one live human, yet it is still a form of population control. By greatly reducing the amount of humans on the planet, the world is allowed a blank canvas to start repainting again.

The potential threat of a zombie apocalypse is also a great tool used to determine a potential mate. This may sound odd, but from previous experience, this is important. One does not want to choose a potential mate who is so obsessed with the fear of a zombie infestation that they allow it to cloud their brain. The idea of the impending zombie apocalypse allowed me to see that this human that I as in a relationship with was not 100% focused on other, more prevalent things in life. It may seem fairly juvenile of me to use this particular method in choosing a mate, yet when someone goes far enough as to make multiple plans for multiple different scenarios of the apocalypse that has no yet happened, the “crazies” are made obvious.

Following the collapse of society, when the entire world becomes a zombie, those who survive will be given the benefit of restarting their lives. How many times in life is one given the chance to remake yourself? In this new world, where there are very few people, each survivor has the ability to remake themselves completely. Going farther and deeper than going to college, the zombie apocalypse allows criminals to remake their lives without being shunned. Does anyone really care if you were in prison for shoplifting a car stereo or murdering someone when thousands of zombies are chasing you? Not really. If anything, your previous murdering experience would be a benefit to the team. Or you can completely forego your previous lifestyle and become a gardener with the now fertilized soil from thousands of rotting corpses. Your reinventing options are limitless.

The zombie apocalypse, while seemingly horrible, is not completely a bad thing. I would, undoubtedly, be one of the first to be infected or die, but that would be my contribution to the limiting of the global population. My crazy ex-boyfriend, who cared more about the non-impending apocalypse than our relationship, would also be one of the first to perish, as he would not be able to choose a survival method fast enough to prevent him from becoming a human Happy Meal. In the grand scheme of things, would a zombie apocalypse really be all that bad? I do not believe so. Here’s to the survivors, be smarter than those on The Walking Dead and do not procreate mid-apocalypse.