WOULD YOU RATHER: WEEKEND ACTIVITIES

Kajamba Fitz-Henley YOUTHLINK WRITER

If we were to all agree on a single stretch of time that everybody loves, that time would probably be the weekend. It’s conventionally upheld as the break from work and school which allows us to enjoy some extra sleep, relaxation and stress-free activities. There comes the undesirable circumstance, however, when, sometimes, people have to give up their weekend to work or engage in a different kind of stressful activity – e.g., chores! Although some of us just won’t sacrifice our precious weekends for anything, what if the circumstances are unusually pressing, like in the scenarios below? Perhaps we may actually consider compromising our weekend ... or not.

Your mother is strictly religious and demands that everyone in the family gets up at 4:30 a.m. to be ready for church at 6 a.m. on the Easter weekend. You had gone to bed at 3 a.m. and you are far too tired to get up and go to church for the whole day. You tell your mother that you are sick, but she insists that if you are going to stay home, then you have to clean the entire fivebedroom house. If the house isn’t spotless by the time she gets back, then she will force you to join the choir to make up for missing church. You also know that if you do go to church and end up falling asleep, she will force you to join the choir to make up for that too.

WOULD YOU RATHER
• Stay home and try to clean the five-bedroom house? (40%)
• Go to church and try to stay awake on an hour and a half of sleep? (60%)

• “No way can I stay awake in church with no sleep. I would have to stay home.” (Milly, 14)
• “I go to church and play games on my phone anyway so I’d do that to stay awake.” (Kailia, 16)

Friday evening is your favourite time, as you get to stay in bed and do whatever you like after a long week of school. However, your father has arranged for you to go to extra Spanish classes from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays due to your failing grades in the subject. The reason you’ve been failing Spanish is that you absolutely hate it. If you choose not to go, then he will cut off your Internet access for the rest of the year so that you will focus more on school.

WOULD YOU RATHER

• Give up your Friday evenings to Spanish? (90%)
• Give up your Internet access for the rest of the year? (10%)

• “No Internet is a serious thing and I actually love Spanish, so I would go to the classes.” (Camille, 15)
• “Well, first of all, I wouldn’t appreciate that kind of manipulation from my parents. I’d have to convince my father to come to a compromise, because neither of those would work for me.” (Aidrianna, 18)

After having to complete a 25-page project, study for four tests in the week and go on a school trip on Friday evening, all you want to do is sleep all day on Saturday, but your best friend has asked you to accompany her to take her driving test. She suffers from anxiety and feels she can only drive well when someone she is close to is in the car with her. You have tried to get her to get over this fear, as she will need to for the future, but she insists that she truly needs the help. You are extremely tired and you have extras on Saturday evening; but if you tell your friend no, she will fail and be upset with you, and you are not sure how long that might last in a situation like this.

WOULD YOU RATHER

• Tell your friend no and have her fail and be upset with you? (70%)
• Give up your free time on Saturday to help your friend? (30%)

• “Friends like that stress me out, honestly. They’ll have to learn at some point so, like they say, that time may as well be now.” (Laurona, 17)
• “Well, my best friend is the only person I may consider giving up my weekend for, so I’m not too sure, but if I were in that situation I think I would go with her.” (Zodi-Ann, 16)

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