Yes, I Am A College Student Who Does Not Have Netflix

Netflix seems to be the greatest invention of my generation. All you hear from college students is, “I just finished this series on Netflix, what am I going to do now?!” *Cue sobs of depression* the words that are more likely to come flying out of my mouth (other than the frequent occasional obscenities), “How am I going to get all this shit done in time?”

The look on people’s faces when I tell them, “Oh, I cancelled my Netflix account,” is a look of pure horror or as if I were mentally insane. I don’t understand why there is a stereotype surrounding college students today with acquiring Netflix. I remember when the stigma was simply, ‘College students are tired, stressed out, cranky human beings that don’t have enough time in their day.’

I’ll give you a rundown of my typical schedule for a Monday: Wake up at 7:45 am, get ready and go to breakfast, go to class at 9 am. I will then return to my dorm for work where I sit at our front desk for 2 hours until I have class again at noon, followed by another class at one o’clock. I will then have a brief break during 2-3:30 before I have to head off to field hockey practice from 4-6.

Sometimes we will go to lift afterwards so I may not be getting done with hockey until at least 7 pm. I will then go to dinner at the dining hall with my teammates and then finally crawl back to my room around 8-8:30 pm and throw myself exhausted onto my lumpy dorm mattress. I will then groan as I realize I must still take a shower before I can settle down into my bed for the night. I will then be closing in on 9 pm.

Depending on my course load that week, I may be saddled with 2+ hours of homework for that evening. Long story short, I do not have time to watch Netflix and I am one of those girls that walks across campus with resting bitch face because I am extremely tired, not because I am an actual jerk.

I do realize that some students do not have the busy or overwhelming schedule of a student athlete or work an on campus job, but how can one be satisfied lying in bed all day watching a TV show or movie? If you’re like me and went somewhere not super close to home, or somewhere you’ve never been before, there are so many things you can go out and do or see.

Please do not let our generation be known as ones that live the life of couch potatoes. I want to be known as world travelers and life changers, not the slobs of America.