Going to the movies on a Friday night may seem like an ideal date for a couple or good time to spend with friends. Maybe for some, going to the movies alone is their ideal date for one. For others, going to the movies alone is a huge panic. The idea of sitting there alone while being surrounded by other people who aren’t alone can be mortifying.

I had a busy and tough week at school and wanted to treat myself to a date with me, myself and I. I’m also a huge movie fan and especially with all the good movies coming out at this time of year, I was pumped. I’m a huge fan of Johnny Depp and was very interested in seeing Black Mass. While it was already late and I had just finished my workout, I decided to head on over to the movie theater. What I liked was that I was not concerned about who would come with me or who was going to see me by myself. I felt heavy judgment by the ticket booth worker who questioned my decision of buying just a ticket for one and a bag of popcorn. But hey, not my fault your job sucks bro. Overall, this spontaneous decision beats a hot, overly crowded frat basement full of drunken underclassmen any day.

It’s interesting that we’ve been conditioned to do so many things with other people that the idea of going to the cinema alone is met with strange looks. There are a few things to look forward to when you're enjoying some me time at the movies:

You get all the popcorn to yourself

I don’t think I even need to justify this reason, but, I repeat, a whole bag of popcorn to yourself! What’s even better is that it’s actual movie theater popcorn and not that cheap rip-off “movie theater” popcorn made by Orville or ACT II (*sigh* it’s not the same). There’s also no significant other grabbing a handful and stuffing his or her face. There's no annoying friend who purposely didn’t get popcorn because of their "diet" and only gets a water, but still steals handfuls of your popcorn. No! You get all this greasy goodness to yourself and I can’t think of anything better.

You can see whatever you want

Films cause humans to break out into debates or arguments about what to see, where to sit, what to eat, whether the movie was good, bad, boring, Oscar-worthy, sexist, racist, or stupid. Whenever this happens, there’s always that one person out of the whole group not okay with the movie choice and is a total buzz kill during the whole film by complaining that their choice was better. Films are divisive and not all of your friends will share the same opinions as your “expert” critiques. If you’re like me, you cannot make up your mind and decide to see another movie the last second. If you're alone, the only person you have to blame about a bad movie decision is yourself.

Both arm rests/sitting wherever

Pure bliss. You can sit in whatever weird position you want and take up both arm rests without annoying anyone. I sit criss-cross applesauce style because if you're like me, you're short and your feet can’t reach the floor. You can also sit wherever you want and there’s never trouble finding a seat for one. Two people deciding on where to sit never goes well. Almost always, one of the two will end up annoyed or disappointed with the seating arrangement. When you’re solo, you don’t have that problem!

You can go whenever you want

Personally, I like to go when it’s late at night just so I can go straight to bed when I get home, but a matinee is never a wrong answer either. Not to call out those perpetually late friends (I’m looking at you, Gertrude), but you guys suck. Still no sign of them? The previews started 10 minutes ago and you're probably going to miss the start of the film! Waiting around sucks especially when you know you’re potentially missing out on a great film. Want to arrive early and actually watch the coming attractions? Go for it. Want to skip the previews and dive straight into THX blasting their famous deep note intro? Then you can do that too! In the end, waiting on people sucks.

You appreciate the movie better

You paid money to see a movie that you can just download for free illegally on the Internet, but that doesn’t compare to seeing it on the big screen. There’s a rush I get when I witness some incredible acting on that big screen or when an action packed movie reaches its climax with a great sound system behind it. When it comes to watching movies, absolutely nothing compares to that movie theater experience. When you’re alone, you can appreciate what you’re watching without all the other pesky details of watching it with a group. Just put that phone on airplane mode for a few hours and sit back (with your legs on the seat in front of you of course), relax with your popcorn and enjoy the movie.