I never understood many peoples’ compulsion in which they feel that they have to go out on a Friday or Saturday night. I saw this shit all of the time way back in college, but astonishingly I still see it happening a decade later in the “real world.” Perhaps people feel like they are less of a “normal” person if they don’t go out each and every weekend, but this behavior is patently ridiculous. If you’re that concerned about what others think of you based on how often you go out for boilerplate social activities, then that honestly makes you rather shallow to begin with. You should never base your self-worth on the approval of others!

Let me use myself as a guinea pig here. I’ve long ignored social expectations, as I simply don’t think my personal life should be defined by the masses. At the end of the week, I’m ready to unwind just as much as the next person. However, I never feel compelled to attend a social gathering in order to do so; there’s loads of ways in which I can relax without falling into a strict social expectation. If I want to go out to some event I’m interested in, I will; if not, who cares? I suppose I’d be admonished as a “nerd” if I chill out on the couch and watch Caprica on a Friday evening (and before that, it was Battlestar Galactica), but after a long week of work, studying, juggling chores, and going to the gym, relaxing with some intellectually stimulating media is perfect downtime. Why should I go out and shout to be heard over the mindless drivel at some crowded bar, just because that’s what society or “most people” say I’m “supposed” to do with a weekend? (The fact that I don’t drink also factors into it, but that’s not the primary point.) I get out plenty as it is, but that’s only at a time and place of my choosing, not that of the rest of the population.

Aside from being stupid, that lemming-like socially dictated behavior that far too many people subscribe to is counterproductive. Relaxing is all about doing what you want to do in order to wind down, not what other people demand. If you’re acceding to others’ wishes, then you’re subconsciously stressing, which in turn invalidates the entire idea! Believe me, I’ve known many an introvert who is a far more capable human being than these weekend warriors.