Guilty Pleasures

As I was scrolling through Netflix looking for something to put on in the background while I did some crafting the other day, I started thinking about guilty pleasures. What in my life I am actually embarrassed to be caught watching/playing/reading/doing. At first, I mentally scoffed thinking, Nah, I’m proud of everything I watch! no matter who it’s intended audience may be! Which is very true in many cases. Like Sailor Moon. I’m a 26 year-old mum and I totally still love Sailor Moon. It brings on such a feeling of happy nostalgia that I love to have in my life. Plus, it’s freaking funny. So I hopped on my high and proud horse of Nope, nothing embarrasses me! for about ten seconds, and then plummeted back to reality after remembering some of the things that I watch on Netflix, read and enjoyed, or played and got sucked in to.

But why do I feel embarrassment at enjoying things? It’s something I constantly battle about in my brain. I am enjoying what I’m doing, so why do I feel the need to apologize about that? Take for instance, reality TV. I definitely feel embarrassed at just how sucked in to Sister Wives I got after my daughter was born. In my fresh, new-mom, sleeping at weird hours with my newborn, spending most of my time on the couch mode, I needed something to fill the void. So I took to Netflix, and found Sister Wives. And loved it. Yet the flush of embarrassment I felt after my hubs saw me watching it one day is still fresh in my mind.

But why? Why do we feel bad for watching a television show? Public opinion? If the world loved Sister Wives would I not feel so guilty about loving it? After all, I feel the point of TV is to be entertained, or to learn something. For me, Sister Wives provided both. Granted, it’s not like I was learning brain surgery, but it was a fascinating look into a lifestyle I knew nothing about, and a religion I know nothing about, and I find that to be riveting. That shouldn’t be something that embarrasses me!

Books are the same way. I read and enjoyed the Twilight series, the Fifty Shades of Grey series, and The Mortal Instruments series. Are they stunning pieces of literature? Of course not. But I liked the stories, most of the characters, and I was entertained. That should be enough. And yet, I remember feeling mildly bad about myself for enjoying them. Why?

So I think I’m going to make an effort to hop back on my high horse of Nope, nothing embarrasses me! and stop apologizing for the things I like, no matter what they are.

Your thoughts on guilty pleasures? Feel free to share some of your own!