It’s safe to say there are a lot of things we love and hate - we pretend there is no in between. But there is. Most of the things we declare we don't like are secretly what we enjoy, but don't want to admit to people. We all have our guilty pleasures. Yours might be watching MIC religiously every Monday, but pretending you hate it to your pals. It could be eating pickles out of the jar, listening to Taylor Swift to feel sassy after a break up ('weeeee are never ever ever, getting back together’) even though you claim she annoys the hell out of you. You get the point. So, I have decided to write about four guilty pleasures that keep on cropping up; the ones that seem to be the most relatable and heavily discussed right now. I wanted to shed some light on those things we love to hate and hate to love, to prove that when it comes down to it, we all love the same things that we try so hard to keep behind closed doors.
1) Justin Bieber
We enjoy the idea of hating J.B., but in reality our feelings for him (and his top 40 smashers) are that of love. Lets face the facts, his songs are feel-good and fun lovin', so let’s stop pretending we're not in love with him; us ladies want him and you fellas want to be him! I know I'm not the only one who sits on the train listening to 'Sorry', but slyly cranks down the volume as soon as a fellow passenger sits down in the adjacent seat. I do this because I know I'll be judged for listening to Biebs' latest hit, especially if the volume is detectable on public transport. Saying this though, there is not a doubt in my mind that the metal head (who's plonked himself next to me) has once secretly enjoyed a sing-along to 'baby' on the radio.
Should I care if people can hear me playing Biebs loud and proud from my earphones? Er... no. But I (we) do because to be a cool 21 year old (in fact anyone above 16 years of age), you should not enjoy bopping to a bit of Biebs on a daily basis. Admitting you heart J.B results in pep talks of: 'oh no, you should know better than to listen to THAT'.
I reckon if we all collectively admitted that he is in fact a guilty pleasure of ours, we could stop hiding his name on our iPhone shuffle list and face up to the truth. Perhaps we could all harmoniously sing along to his new song(s) after a hard day at the office. I mean, have you heard his new album? That man (wow it feels strange not writing boy), just gets it right every time. If the below video doesn't convince you / make you admit you are a Belieber, then you are definitely still in the 'denial' stage of the love/hate Justin relationship...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW5Ur0FYnho
2) A cheeky Nando's
It's full of Nike-huarache, wearing top knotted / ice-gemmed dudes ordering rice and chicken, to boost their protein levels before buffing it up at the gym.There is no denying that. Where I'm from, there is even a gym directly above Nando's. I have always thought this was all part of a very clever individual’s cunning marketing plan to bring in customers for both businesses.
So yeah, it is full of all the things we hate / the stereotypes we despise... but my god they do a good sweet potato wedge. Plus, have you tried the cheesecake? We all secretly love to tweet about the cheeky Nando's we tucked into at lunch, after a hard gin-fuelled night out. This is not to say that it's okay to shout your visit loud and proud over a Facebook status. Nando's is tasty, it does the job, but it is not Facebook-worthy by any means. Visiting a new city is a no-no for a cheeky Nando's too... nope, surprisingly we are not impressed you went to Nando's when visiting Manchester for the very first time. They are EVERYWHERE - broaden your bloody horizons and step out of the chain-zone. Nonetheless, we all love a cheeky Nando's every now and again. Mainly because we get to say those exact words and laugh at all the people who seriously think it's okay to have a cheeky Nando's and hit the gym on a daily basis.
3) First Dates
There is not one person reading this that hasn't watched and enjoyed a cheeky episode of this truthfully entertaining show. Once I was on a date that was so dull that I actually counted down the hours I could go home to watch first dates at 10, instead of enjoying the one I was on! People will pretend they've 'watched it when nothing else was on', but even if they did, they loved every minute - whether they admit that to you or not. I mean, who doesn't love witnessing unsuccessful dates that resemble our own?
We get to experience the real-life Netflix and chill(ers) who fail to produce anything but embarrassment in a restaurant setting and of course we all love finding out that the match-made-in-heaven couple we saw earlier (and fell head over heels for), are now successfully dating. The joy of viewing the shameless selfies of the couples with their new in-laws at the end credits is priceless. Plus, there's plenty of eye candy for both guys and gals watching.
Whether we want to own up to it or not, we all love the idea of love, and First Dates is a reassuring reminder that we are not alone in the dating pool of doom. It reminds us that cringe-worthy dates and friendship zones are more common than we think, but at least our awkward experiences aren't broadcast on TV every week!
4) Primark
Why is it that we all love Primark but won't admit it? After we buy that bargain £12 coat and £6 polo neck top, we do everything in our power to make the ginormous paper bag that boasts PRIMARK on the front, disappear. We suddenly become magicians; we go to lengths we never thought we’d go to to avoid the paper bag parade. We do everything in our power to squeeze our new buys into our not-so-large hand bags.
One not-so-uncommon trick is to shove newly purchased items into a Topshop carrier bag we 'prepared earlier’. So long as we can ditch that paper bag, we are happy, we are free, and no one will ever know we went on a Primark shopping spree. Why are we so in denial then? My answer is: we are too proud. We all love a bargain, but we don't want everyone else to know that when strolling down the high street.
Yes Primark provides us with cheap and cheerful deals, but admitting we shop there is a big price to pay. But, there is one exception. I’m talking about the Primark bond of course; when someone asks you where you're pinafore dress is from and they respond with: 'NO!!! THAT'S from PRIMARK!!?? It looks exactly like the Topshop version!'. It is only then that we admit our love for the place, bragging from the rooftops about our latest purchases.
Some might say that our reputation is at stake, but let's face up to the facts - many of our reputations are fake because we secretly looove Primarni. I mean, where else can you get a Minnie Mouse Christmas onesie, a £1 phone screen protector and a pair of jeans for a tenner? Let's just put this conflict to bed and admit that we love the place.
-----------------------------------Some might say that our reputation is at stake, but let's face up to the facts - many of our reputations are fake because we secretly looove Primarni. I mean, where else can you get a Minnie Mouse Christmas onesie, a £1 phone screen protector and a pair of jeans for a tenner? Let's just put this conflict to bed and admit that we love the place.
So as you've all gathered, there should be no 'guilt' in guilty pleasures because many of us are in the same boat: secretly in love with everything we 'shouldn't' be.
Katie x
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