Take Yourself on a Movie Date

It was T-minus 48 hours until the start of winter quarter. With a forecast of rain, rain, and more rain, my options to occupy my last Saturday of break were limited. I had my apartment fully to myself for the weekend yet seemingly nothing to do and nowhere to go. I was fully unpacked from break, had no school, no deadlines, and my refrigerator was full. I had the day completely to myself. What now? 

I considered doing last-minute tasks around my apartment to prepare for the arrival of the busy quarter but remembered I had already completed the majority of them over the past few rainy days inside.  I also thought about catching up on the plethora of shows I had gotten 15 minutes into and promptly turned the TV off after realizing I didn’t have the mental capacity to invest myself into 6 seasons. Though the option was tempting, the idea of not leaving my lonely apartment during the entire daylight hours sounded relatively bad (and maybe borderline unhealthy).

I did, however, like the idea of sending my mind off to some fictional universe. I had done enough reading over break that the idea of opening a new book sounded somewhat exhausting. A movie is just what I needed–short enough that I don’t have to invest myself into new characters and plot lines, but long enough for an afternoon escape. My living room was not going to cut it–I decided to venture out to the movie theater. 

I decided that of the films currently being shown, the film The Fabelmans sounded the most interesting. The Varsity Theatre sells matinee tickets for 11.50– I justified the price as being equal to roughly two coffees and determined it was worth the funds. I had only been to the movies once since living in Davis but I did not get the full experience as I fell asleep 30 minutes in. Today was different, though. I wanted to make a date out of it and frame it as an opportunity for “me time.”  I shamelessly uploaded private Snapchat story photos captioned “solo movie date!” for the remainder of the day. 

I ventured out of my apartment just after 1 pm as the film was set to start at 2:50 pm — I caught the G bus and upon my arrival downtown, I sped-walked immediately to Posh Bagel. I ordered my usual (lox spread on a salt bagel–don’t knock it till you try it) and ate it inside while eavesdropping on patrons’ conversations around me. I then decided a coffee was necessary (to prevent another theater nap) and went to Starbucks across the street from the Varsity. I ordered a cappuccino with peppermint syrup (because peppermint syrup is always good, even if the holiday season is over) and waited inside. I realized I perhaps was still too early and ventured over to Logo’s Books to check out their inventory. I purchased a 2 dollar short storybook to add to my growing unread book collection. Coffee in one hand, book in the other, I finally headed to the theater.

Despite my efforts to kill some time, I arrived a half hour early. I checked in by accidentally speed-reading off my Fandango ticket code to the woman at the front desk, apologized profusely for my odd speed (“I don’t know why I said that so fast!”), and then proceeded to find Theater 2. I secured the middle-center seat. I realized then that I was very excited. 

More and more people began to enter the theater and the film started promptly at showtime. The film itself was wonderful. I am no film critic, but the 93% rotten tomato score was well deserved. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film follows a young boy who is loosely based around Speilberg himself. It is a story of passion in the arts, determination, and growing up. I loved every second of it. 

When I left the theater, it was dark and the rainfall was noticeably more intense. The high of leaving the theater post-movie lingered with me. I nearly skipped my way back to the bus station, umbrella in hand. I arrived home after a main-character bus ride and felt content. I realized I had spent the whole day by myself and genuinely had so much fun.  If you’ve got a day to kill, consider taking yourself on a well-deserved movie date. Or just any solo date! Sometimes it really is the simple things that cure-all. 

• date
• movie theater
• movies
• self care
• solo date