Homebody - The New Dirty Word

By Marianna Michael

I've been known to spend a whole evening on a dance floor and I love to be outside - walking, window-shopping, sitting in city-encased parks and wandering through galleries and through vast architecture alike. But tease me with a night in and I'm sold!

My world is built upon the arts but I'm yet to be at the stage, along with so many, where I can afford to sustain the level of culture that I'd like. Exhibitions, shopping, films and great food - as a collective - cost more money than I earn. And as much as I hate to be home all day, I have to admit that I secretly love it. And perhaps I'm a little ashamed to admit it because homebodies are given a bad press. Homebodies are often made to feel bad for not following the crowd - labelled as being boring and not knowing how to have fun. The homebody is often coerced into everything other than staying home to prepare a 5-star, (albeit budget) TV dinner.

I can go from being like a sprightly puppy, to a dormant mouse in a flash. Leave me with a pile of magazines and a cup of coffee, or a night in with a box-set and I'm equally happy. And in fact, being a homebody can be great for the creative visionaries, for generation Y - the ones who may just be heading for success.

Working from home as I often do, staying indoors can become prison-like. I need time outside, time to experience new things, new places, to gain inspiration and to take a break, hence why I try and to work anywhere but home when there's an opportunity for it. We as creatives - whether a designer, maker, writer, photographer, entrepreneur or anything in-between - thrive on what we see around us. We thrive on people-watching, ear-wigging, exhibition-going and the consumption of all that's around us.

"STAYING HOME IS SO… — **"STAYING HOME IS SOMETIMES NECESSARY FOR SURVIVAL"**

Inevitably, there's something comforting, nostalgic, even creative about staying in. As many millennials know, working an internship and a side job is not uncommon. Long hours, double-shifts and all our money being spent on food and bills - staying home is sometimes necessary for survival. Perhaps only temporarily, but staying in may be the only way we'll have money in the near future to go out. Rest never hurt anybody, in fact, it could really give you a boost.

With a variety of ways to watch film and TV, it's a shame to miss out on the wonders that it can bring. Staying in to do yoga in front of Netflix all night sounds great, right? We all know it'll be a little less yoga and a little more binge-watching anyway. Pick genres you've never contemplated, chose an auteur and watch all their films over several weeks... or nights. And if you happen to work within, or are working towards a career in the industry, then watching becomes a core piece of research - and no one can dispute that.

It's the same when it comes to reading books. Call it research, call it entertainment, call it fulfilment. There is so much content out there from online articles to Twitter feeds, that we sometimes forget about great fiction, the classics, mystery thrillers, short-novels and a multitude of other prose. Books can be entertaining, enriching and inspirational. I came to a point where I didn't think so-called 'great books' would ever have an effect on me, believing I had become immune to the digital world; and then I traded a few days out for nights in with a book and now I'm on my way through a slightly overwhelming Goodreads challenge.

So dear Homebodies, shut the door, close the curtains and collect the DVD's (if anybody still has them), pick up a new hobby, watch online seminars and learn to cook pasta from scratch. Home is your oyster.