"I don't believe in guilty pleasures. If you enjoy something, you just enjoy it. No sense feeling guilty about it." ~Cristina Moracho

What is your guilty pleasure?  Is it ice cream?  Netflix?  Shopping sprees?

Mine is The Bachelor.

Photo Courtesy of Tamara Korovina

If, by any chance, you are not familiar with the show, twenty-eight women compete for one man and the chance to become his future wife.  The show is set up so that the man, "the bachelor," goes on a group date and several one-on-one dates each episode.  He eliminates a few girls at the end of each week, until he is left with one--his fiancée.  When there are three or four women left, the bachelor meets with each of the girls' families, and in the season finale, the remaining contestants meet the bachelor's family. 

Just allow me to say--the show is absolutely insane and wrong on so many levels, and yet, I love it.

Is it right for a man to date twenty-eight women at once?  Not at all.  Is it entertaining?  Without a doubt.

Photo Courtesy of Ryan Fung

The Bachelor is undeniably my guilty pleasure because it is dramatic and shocking every week without fail.  The dates are fantastical, lavish, and completely swoon-worthy.  The mansion is beautiful and the gowns are spectacular.  In the end, the engagement ring is huge and the proposal is romantic.  Of course, all of this is artificial, but it satisfies my sweet tooth for romance, drama, and reality TV.

I am completely aware that there are much more wholesome and enriching things I could be doing with my life for two hours every Monday, but I wouldn't want to be doing anything differently.

Why should anyone have to defend their guilty pleasure?  Unless the thing you enjoy the most is destructive emotionally, or harmful to your physical well-being, just enjoy it!  My guilty pleasure allows me to stop thinking, worrying, and stressing for a few lovely hours, and I honestly look forward to Monday nights because I can't wait to relax for a change.  

Author Cristina Moracho said, "I don't believe in guilty pleasures.  If you enjoy something, you just enjoy it.  No sense feeling guilty about it."  I could not agree more.  

I think that all of us should have one guilty pleasure--something that helps us get through a tough week or allows us to let go of stress.  Indulging in a guilty pleasure is healthy in moderation, and this indulgence has the power to give us a kind of emotional and mental therapy that we all need every once in a while.

So, the next time you are sitting down to watch Extreme Couponing, Finding Bigfoot, or whatever reality TV you are most embarrassed to love, don't give it a second thought.  You are worth it.  Just concentrate on enjoying life and all that it has to offer, including television, ice cream, and shopping malls.