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Friends sitting around a table with boba drinks
Friends sitting around a table with boba drinks
© Seattle Boba Fest 2022, Alabastro Photography for The U District Partnership
Washington | Life > Experiences

Is RSVPing Necessary?

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Washington chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

If you happen to be chronically online, you’re more than aware of the constantly swirling discourse surrounding personality traits, romantic relationships, and friendships. Are you avoidantly attached? Perhaps anxiously attached or something in between? And how does that impact your relationships? Sure, friendships are essential and attachment styles deserve attention and proper dissection, but, in the TikTok age, conversations move so quickly and only the most rage-inducing or controversial gain traction. This is not surprising, of course (as who doesn’t love a bit of meaningless drama?), so when the catchy intro question of, “Is it important to RSVP?” was asked, it was bound to stir things up. 

At some point in our lives, we all RSVP to something: a school event, a wedding, or even a career fair. Some may even consider it a given when it comes to attending or hosting, but others consider RSVPing for events like birthday parties or get-togethers “overkill.” These are the two “sides” in this online debate, because, as we all know, there is no such thing as nuance on the internet. Of course, this may feel increasingly familiar to everything surrounding the “you don’t owe anyone anything” mindset, which gets an online resurgence once every three business days. 

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8DgDSmR

Considering how holidays are around the corner, RSVPs are bound to flood inboxes, and while it’s understandable that students will be busy with travel and exams, it is important to make time for your friends’ event. Taking the time to see what evenings you have available is a small act that shows how much you value a relationship. While obviously, RSVPs aren’t inherently binding, backing out last-minute because you don’t “feel like it” tends to come across poorly to the host. Sickness and mental health are definitely valid reasons to miss an event, even when it’s the day of. Still, effort and discomfort are necessary in building and maintaining relationships, platonic or otherwise.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8DgffdX

I’m not saying that all events require RSVPs; some events work well as “show up whenever you want” parties, nor am I saying that you have to overexert yourself by attending every single thing you are invited to. However, RSVPing and going out of your way (even when you might not want to) to spend time with those who matter to you is what friendship is all about. Mostly, anyway.