“I asked my plant if I should go to the party… and it ignored me, as usual”

A story of achieving peace after a week of Erasmus, speaking weird German, getting lost trying to find the right tram, and surviving supermarkets with 200 types of bread by Gonzalo :)

It was Friday. It was raining. My social motivation was at the level of a cold slice of toast.

And there I was, staring at my plant from the couch, phone in hand, WhatsApp invite open on the screen.
“Come, it’s gonna be amazing, bring whatever you want except XX”
A sentence that gives me anxiety just reading it.

So I turned to the only creature I live with that doesn’t judge me (at least not openly) my plant.

Just a regular houseplant, the kind you get at any supermarket. No name. Not because I don’t care, but because I suck at naming things. Calling it “plant” is already a step forward. And even though it’s never sent me any clear signals, this time I really needed an external opinion. So I asked:

“Should I go or what?”

Silence. Obviously.

But I had already entered the mental spiral: “If I don’t go, I might miss something epic. But if I do, I’ll be tired in 10 minutes, end up in the kitchen pretending I’m super interested in learning how to make brownies. Again.”

At that exact moment, a leaf fell. Literally just dropped, slowly.
As if my plant was saying:
“This again? Dude, just make a decision and let me photosynthesize in peace.”

I stopped to think.

Plants don’t force things. They don’t wonder if they’re “making the most of the night.” They don’t have FOMO.
If there’s no sun, they do nothing. If it’s cold, they shrink. If they have energy, they grow. If not, they rest. That’s it.

And then I understood what my unnamed plant was telling me with its dramatic leaf drop:

“Do what brings you peace, not what you think you’re supposed to do.”

So I didn’t go.

I put on some chill music, cooked something I didn’t even know I could make (since when can I make a decent Spanish tortilla?), and watered the plant. Well, I looked at it with water in hand, and it basically said “not today, thanks,” so I respected that too.

It wasn’t an epic night. But it was peaceful. And honestly, after a week of Erasmus, speaking weird German, getting lost trying to find the right tram, and surviving supermarkets with 200 types of bread, that peace was pure gold.

Sometimes you don’t need to go to every party.
Or do what seems socially expected.
Or seek validation in rooms full of LED lights and playlists jumping from drum and bass to techno without warning.

Sometimes all you need is your plant, a decent dinner, and permission to leave yourself alone.

And every now and then, that’s more than enough.