Again, since my creativity title-wise has been defeated by an image of a very famous grandad with a hat, I'll just leave him as a title. First things first, though:

Ако не искаш да четеш/не разбираш английски език, погледни в архивите и ще си намериш нещо на български. Този пост ще бъде на английски.

Right then, with this out of the way...

What I'm going to write about today is a very old topic in its essence -- Being told what to and what not to do. However, don't worry, my concerns aren't morals, nor laws, no. It's something far less... well, bluntly put, far less serious and far less boring.

I'm talking about... well, let me quote:

"How can you like playing that?"

"How can you enjoy lifting weights?"

"How can you watch that much TV/movies/whetever?"

"How can you dedicate that much time into anything at all?"

Why should I dedicate time into something I enjoy, you ask? Isn't that quite a silly question? And this isn't just about me -- like always, I'm talking in general here. To me, all these questions sound like a big pile of bull, which could be worded like "I want you to enjoy yourself by doing this and this!"

My question would be "Why should I do something other than what I enjoy in my free time?"

I ask you: how can you not understand that people do what they enjoy (outside their work) because they enjoy it? You ask me how can person A play games for four hours a day, or more? Simply because he/she enjoys it. He relaxes by doing so. It's his leisure activity. From his/hers point of vue, why should he do anything different?

Why can't people accept hobbies that do not match theirs? I mean, if you don't do what most do, then you suddenly don't fit the pattern, do you? Oh, dear lord, whatever shall we do now. Reading is barely accepted, writing -- practically in the weird zone, but that activity doesn't really matter because almost nobody does it anymore (reaching a stage, where people with a lot of diplomas have decided that literature should have meaning and it's worthless if it's just for leisure purposes). Playing games is considered as 'nerdy', listening to music as 'lonely' and 'unsociable', playing any type of instrument -- awe-inspiring (ofc, not that kind of awe that makes other people respect the person, but rather that type of awe that is more like a synonym for 'file under different - weird people').

"You should be outside, talking with others in your spare time! Not doing anything listed above! I would at least."

Has anybody not thought about the mere fact that maybe, just maybe, I, and probably a lot more people, don't want to do what most do? Actually, I'd probably spend a lot more time at home. While for a lot of people being out is Paradise, for me five, six hours spent with anyone but a selected number of people that I know since the dawn of time means Hell. It bores me. It annoys me. Sorry, but this is my way of getting at least some rest from the permanent chains that are society.

Why should I stop doing something that I enjoy? Why shouldn't I do it? It's my choice.

And this stereotype-for-leisure trend is only getting worse. People are starting to tell me when to have fun, how to have fun, WHERE to have it even on a bigger scale -- where to spend my vacations, at which exact school year I should be doing most of my parties, how should I do them. I mean, giving a holiday once in a month, which is practically saying 'have fun on that date', is generally regarded as good, but saying "you should have more fun this year than any other" is getting a bit too far. And I've heard the latter. It's like telling me I should be growing up this school year (which I've also heard). My answer to that is, "Okay, so at what day do I get to stab you in the face? Must be on the leisure list, no?"

I mean... damn! Can't I simply have fun when I want to, how I want to, with whom I want to? Isn't this my goddamn time off?

In my opinion, and what I personally do when somebody tells me something along the lines of "I personally can't imagine myself doing that for enjoyment, how can anybody enjoy it?"

I tell them:

"It's quite simple, really. Everyone is not you. Shocking twist, but deal with it somehow. Think you'll live."