Guilty Pleasures

We all have them, and though covert, these pleasures manage to make us smile. But what exactly is it about a pleasure, that coins it guilty?—they are often hidden underneath the layer of bashfulness—the slight embarrassment behind loving something others might not. Personally, I find my guilty pleasures to be much more interesting to talk about with strangers than my actual loud-and-proud-pleasures. I adore dancing ballet (loud and proud) but I also love horrible shark movies. Sharknado? 5 stars. Shark Night 3-D? Also 5 stars. So what exactly draws the line between a hobby you love versus a guilty pleasure you love?

The line between guilty pleasures and hobbies lies in the confidence of its beholder. A hobby is something you enjoy doing outside of your career. Something self-fulfilling and sometimes productive, so the gym, or crocheting, or baking, or gardening, etc. While a guilty pleasure is the exact same thing.....only less acceptable socially? I find that hurtful and stupid. The most common guilty pleasures according to Google are: reality TV, eating dessert before dinner, watching movies/TV shows catered for children, video games, etc. Not sure how recent the results were taken only because reality TV is such a public, and common fixation lately, I am not sure it should even be labeled as a guilty pleasure anymore. Try finding any person over the age of 20 who hasn't seen at least ONE episode of Love Island. I will also say that TV shows intended for younger audiences are also amazing. This post topic pretty much came to me because I am doing my annual H2O: Just Add Water rewatch and the season two finale genuinely makes me so happy. Whether it be childhood memories, or a remembering of simpler times, or just simply great plot paired with 2000's-credit scene-pop music, a heartfelt smile finds its way onto my face. So what does this guilty pleasure say about me? I feel like it first points out that I am a self-assured person because most people I have met who love media intended for ages younger than their own, are not as loud and proud about it. I, on the other hand, could detail the lore behind Miraculous for hours if prompted. (Prompted being the key word). What do our guilty pleasures say about us?

I took a brief survey amongst group chats. A friend of mine, who I have mentioned on here before, her guilty pleasures include a specific Häagen-Dazs flavored pint of ice cream, Target, and Klarna. I had to agree on Klarna because good god I use it often and definitely lie about how much I use it. It remains cemented as a guilty pleasure because financial debt is, and most likely forever will be, a sore subject. One you don't engage in with strangers. So we can leave that one in the guilty pleasure column. The pint-size ice cream inhalation is one I think she should be loud and proud about honestly, because it is white chocolate raspberry and that is a fan favorite. Target is also an extremely common guilty pleasure amongst college kids so she's definitely not alone in Target shopping spree's. These being her guilty pleasures, I would likely guess they stem from self-image criticism, or more pointedly how society might judge someone who simply enjoys Target sprees and ice cream. Personally I think she should do both more often as they make her happy.

At first I wouldn't coin eating food as a guilty pleasure given that eating is just a part of being a human person, but then I remembered how often I will mentally kick myself if I think I have eaten too much, or will pardon a donut purchase by excusing it with "I've had a hard week, so why not?" I find the need to excuse a fun thing with reasoning, to probably be the least fun habit I have. Why does going out with friends and eating food become my reward for finishing finals? It can just be going out and having fun. Why does buying a steak dinner become my reward for eating nothing but chia seeds and water all morning? It can just be a great meal I want to enjoy. Why does buying a Canon G7X become my graduation gift to myself? It can just be a purchase that is like finding a bucket of water on the surface of the sun because LORD KNOWS that camera is extremely difficult to find for a reasonable price.

Ask yourself how often you excuse a guilty pleasure with categorizing it as a seldom treat for yourself. Perhaps that's why guilty pleasures remain so beneath the surface. The more you pardon and excuse it, the more you get to enjoy their occurrences and the more you indulge in the week-long battle to reach the one reward. They lie beneath the surface you present to strangers, yet ironically once you bear the courage to dare say one aloud, the more interesting the conversation. Another friend of mine, who moved to Seattle because she hates me, lists her guilty pleasures to be: musicals, Spanish dramas/telenovelas, and Twilight lore. I know, she's cool. Musicals are a common guilty pleasure, yet the second you meet someone who also adores Hamilton the way you do, car rides become infinitely more enjoyable. Guilty pleasures somehow have the ability to do that—self-proclaimed to be an embarrassing hobby yet the second you meet someone with the same guilty pleasure, the stronger the bond. Think about it, say you love singing, and your guilty pleasure is reality TV. Should you meet someone who also enjoys and categorizes the two hobbies the same way, which conversation would you deem to be more entertaining?—more real.

While some guilty pleasures affect your overall health and the wellbeing of your bank account, I do think it is fair to say all guilty pleasures outside of those arenas should be worn confidently across your chest. You love going to the gym listening to the Wicked soundtrack? I can guarantee at least 5 other people near you are doing the exact same thing. You adore childish cartoons? I can guarantee there is an adult audience in their statistics. You love horrible shark movies? I can guarantee that we will become friends. I guess the point of this post is to point out that not all guilty pleasure should be deemed guilty to start with—everybody does it! And it all relies on the confidence of the beholder. I went to one of my best friends' birthday party last week and loved how every year she always has karaoke. And though it is a random comparison, and can be deemed a guilty pleasure in itself, karaoke is a lot like guilty pleasures. At the beginning no one wants to do it in a public setting, "its embarrassing", "what if others don't like it" yadda yadda, until someone builds the courage to make the first step towards the microphone. Even if the singing isn't great, you admire the confidence. Then slowly but surely, everyone has a song they want to sing.