Finally, my obligation rant. I will get straight to the point, on this one. If someone is obligated to do something, they should not do it. I know that doesn't really make sense, but in many cases, that should be true. In relationships, in family matters, with friends, any type of social interaction, really. (It isn't so much applicable to school or work, as if you don't do the things you are obligated to do there, you fail or get fired.) A good, and prominent example of this is gift giving. For any occasion, if you are choosing to give a gift to someone because you love them, or because they mean something to you, and you genuinely want to make them happy and think that they will appreciate it, then by all means, buy (or make!) them a gift. However, if you are going out and buying them a box of chocolates, because it's Christmas/St. Valentine's Day/their birthday/whatever and you have to, then don't! Why in the world would you give someone something without any meaning or thought, simply because it's the day when you are supposed to do so? The fact that society says that you should get someone a gift on specific days of the year is not a good reason to do so. Give someone something because you want to, not because you are supposed to. The same goes for visiting someone, and many interactions with people as well. Another pet peeve example is the interactions that are expected of couples. Sitting beside one another becomes expected. A kiss goodnight becomes expected. Certain things are expected to happen at certain stages of the relationship. Because of these expectations, relationships lose all of their sincerity. Everything seems forced. Relationships progress to a point where the participants do not want to be, simply because that is how the train of events is supposed to go. When it becomes routine to kiss goodnight, the sincerity is lost. Something like that, (like any of these things,) should be done for no other reason than because the person genuinely wants to. Not because it is expected of them. Not because it is what is supposed to happen.

To shorten a long rant into a one-line-lesson; never, ever do anything because you have to, or because you are supposed to. Do it because you want to.