Can You Skip?

By Lev Novak

Class, or a friend’s party, there will be things that you don’t want to do. That’s just life.

The question, of course, is should you?

There’s a difficult balance to find between skipping things and attending them. Skip everything, and you’re going to miss out on the actual events and the actual consequences that follow them are real. Never skip, though, and you run the risk on missing out on life.

If, for example, your then-girlfriend sits next to you in Astronomy and she tells you to skip it with her, do not tell her how you’re kind of behind on the comets and you’ll just go without her, okay? Just skip. Trust me on this one.

1. Will You Get Behind?

Sometimes it’s important to live in the moment. Other times, it’s important to view your life like a book, and ask yourself- will this disrupt the plot?

Missing an optional review session for a test sounds very flexible, but depending on the test, that might actually be worse to skip than an actual class. Similarly, a party with some friends might sound fun, but if you have a promising date to go on, it might not be wise to postpone it. Who knows where that will lead, after all- you know exactly where the party will lead.

Similarly, if the event doesn’t lead anywhere, it’s easier to skip it. You’re friend’s improv show? Unless you have a secondary reason (you’d be going with other friends, or there’s an after-party, or you’re super bored) you can skip it. But anything connected visibly to the future- a date, a review session, practice before a game- and you should make it.

And yes, that includes the gym.

2. Will You Worry?

Skipping class is fun, but not if you’re worried the whole time that you missed something. If you’re going to be anxious about a pop quiz, or of any other consequence, just go to class. The anxiety will make the skipping a lot less fun then you think.

3. Do You Need This?

That includes needing the skipping.

Is it finals week? Is your family visiting? Are you so exhausted that you won’t get anything from attending class at all and also you have a performance that night and how will you possibly do both?

Then skip.

If you need a mental health break, or a physical health break, or even a “man, I needed this” trip to the gym, or, more realistically, a nap, then take it. You know yourself. Make good choices and take what you need.

4. Is It An Adventure?

Never skip an adventure. Always skip things for adventures.

Road-trips to casinos on a whim are an adventures. Go. It doesn’t matter if you don’t gamble- it’s a thing, you know? Do things. Similarly, don’t let small things give you excuses. Sometimes we make obstacles in our heads to avoid jumping in to new things in life. Skip those obstacles.

Basically, do awesome stuff. And ignore the things in your way. Because if you really had to do it, you’d know it. But a missing a typical Monday’s worth of classes isn’t a big deal once in a while. And if it lets you road-trip, go ahead.

Share this article: