Why Bother, It's "Just Me"

A perspective shift for the new year.

Welcome to Cheaper Than Therapy, a newsletter for 80s babies by Shani Silver.

This is for anyone who eats cereal for dinner because why bother cooking something real for “just you.” This is for anyone who tries to mess up the bed as little as possible while sleeping so it’s easy to make in the morning because why bother dealing with a fully unmade bed if it’s “just you.” And, if you know you know, this is for anyone who has ever bought a shitty couch not because it was cheap, but because why bother with anything nice or more comfortable if it’s “just you” at home. Won’t you just get rid of it when you move in with a partner and get a “real” couch? This is for any of us, and all of us, who have ever existed less in the world because we thought that’s what we were “supposed to do.” If you don’t have a partner yet, your life isn’t real yet, so why bother?

A “why bother” existence is low self worth living out loud. It’s the diminishment of your wants, desires, and comforts because you don’t think you’re “enough” to merit them. It’s a product of being socialized and raised in a society that you’ve seen reward couple after couple for simply existing, while you struggle with a search for partnership that seems without end.