A Letter to My Lover-- Netflix.

Oh Netflix. My dear. I remember when you first came about...I was in Junior High, and my friends got their movies off of the internet and mailed to their front door. It was hip and trendy but then you released a new service-- on-demand TV. And I was hooked.

Before I met you, when I wanted to watch a tv show, I would go find it on the guide and record it to the DVR. Then wait for it to premier, let it record, and enjoy after it airs. It was nice, but I wanted more. If you felt like binge-watching an entire series, you had to track down a channel that showed re-runs and then wait for all of them record. And even then you have to skip through pesky commercials. That's no way to live. 

And here you come, Netflix, with your reasonable 8-dollar-a-month-fee and a plethora of episodes- no, not just episodes, but entire seasons, heck, entire SERIES available at the click of a button. And no commercials. TV-lovers rejoice!!

But, as magical as this new breed of TV watching has been, you don't exactly support effective time management. If I have to choose between homework or Netflix, I'm going to be honest...I will choose Netflix everytime. And not just one or two episodes....more like one or two entire seasons. I have spent many a night awake till the wee hours of the morning, clicking the "next episode" option over and over again for "just one last episode" of New Girl or Breaking Bad or Mad Men or whatever I'm currently obsessing over. 

And you can't really blame me- the On-Demand TV craze has revolutionized the way we watch TV by making basically anything we want to watch totally accessible and affordable. Netflix is a household name. And, understandably so. On-Demand TV is as addictive as it is innovative. So much accesibility and so little time. Which means I need to clear my schedule of pesky responsibilities like work and school so I'll have more Netflix time to catch up on the newest, coolest TV shows. As a high school graduate about to enter college in January, I am grateful for the potential movie nights and study-breaks that will be filled with Netflix. But, I am also concerned about my total lack of self control. Which means a 30 minute study break will turn into something closer to 30 HOURS of tv watching. 

So, Netflix, as much as I love you, and as innovative and life-changing as you have been, I'm afraid we might need to take some space and date other people. I'm gonna try going out with college in January and see how it goes...and for now I'm going to get more serious with work. I know it hurts, but this is for the best. It's not you, it's me. Okay, maybe it is a little bit you.