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By Claire Harmon
Guilty pleasures are the acts we perform for purely selfish reasons, the ways we appease the monkey brain inside us demanding we do something fun simply for the sake of having fun. For many people, guilty pleasures are eating midnight snacks, staying in pajamas all day, or singing loudly in the car.
People feel “guilty” about their pleasures for any number of reasons. It can be embarrassing to admit that we do things other people might think are cringe-worthy or weird. It can also be uncomfortable to admit that we indulge ourselves in acts that yield no discernible product other than pure entertainment or enjoyment.
In a career-driven world of ever-increasing demands, responsibilities, and expectations, these pleasures fill us with shame because we aren’t “making use” of our time, or we’re doing something that doesn’t meet society’s standards for “normal behavior.” How dare you eat a midnight snack when you’re supposed to be on a diet? What if someone passing you on the highway witnesses you singing Eye of the Tiger at the top of your lungs? What if someone knocks on your door and finds you in your pajamas at 3 in the afternoon?
Who cares?
Learning to be unashamedly happy is one of the hardest lessons to learn. To not only squeeze every ounce of enjoyment from a meaningless, useless task but to do so publicly? That’s a radical statement.
Challenge yourself to do things that serve no purpose other than to bring joy to your life. Sew the ugliest, weirdest thing you’ve ever seen in your life because you just wanted to. Draw a bad picture and then hang it on the fridge because who’s going to stop you? Read the trashiest book with the weirdest cover you can find at your local library. Eat something just because it tastes good or try some foreign food you’ve never had before. Just do something that is for you and you alone.
Claire Harmon is a McConnell Scholar in the Class of 2023. She is studying library science and political science at the University of Louisville.