One of the main criticisms leveled at the millennial generation is that we take for granted the amazing opportunities afforded us in the 21st century. One way we supposedly do this is by stating the small, yet intensely meaningful phrase, "I'm bored." Those two words often lead to derogatory remarks about how we use devices containing every bit of human information at out fingertips to text winky faced emojis to each other and mindlessly scroll through our Facebook feeds. The problem with that line of thinking is very few people, young or old, ever seem to seriously wonder why we choose to scroll our apathy away when we could be embracing it. Instead, the emotional state of boredom is unwaveringly dismissed as a bad thing.

I disagree with that assertion on a fundamental level. I've spent the majority of my life in a state of boredom. When I was little my inactivity manifested itself as daydreaming out of the window in school, and now it's become spending hours on Sanford Mall staring at the clouds. With all the extra time to think, I've decided that very few feelings are inherently good or bad. To me, the best thing about being human is we have the ability to decide whether an emotion is good or bad for us specifically. Trust me, I know this is vastly easier said than done. Certain emotions are still elusive, but I believe boredom is a valuable tool of self-reflection when it isn't immediately disregarded.

In America, many of us have this idea of exceptionalism instilled in our minds at a young age that says if we're not being productive then we're not really attaining any worth. This creates the need inside of us to always be the best at whatever we're doing in order to gain the most joy in our society, which can easily lead to exhausted frustration in many cases. The near constant need to be improving ourselves at all times is as problematic as it is helpful.

On one hand, having an ingrained urge to create something, whether it be a work of art or another person, is wonderful because it helps us advance as a species. On the other hand, the best way to advance is to create meaningful expressions of your personality by using love, time and care to hone your personal feelings into something that others can relate to.

When you're only devoted to creation through quantity you run the risk of creating simply for the sake of it. Doing anything important without thinking deeply about your motive is a quick way to lower the quality of the work itself. I believe that boredom is the most efficient way to take a step back and contemplate the reasons behind your actions. By sitting still and focusing on the best ways to express yourself as a person you gain the ability to work more effectively towards achieving your goals. Ultimately, this will help steer you towards mindful self-improvement in a way that can only be done by embracing the seemingly empty hours of life.

At the risk of sounding like a platitudinal fortune cookie, I just want to end by saying when you're free to do nothing you're free to do everything.

What are your thoughts on boredom?