One of my favorite places to be is in a bookstore. I love to look at the books, and often I aspire to read half of the books I pick up, yet I never do. When I was in middle and high school reading was fun, and I considered it a leisure activity. Now I find that I have no time to read for fun, and I don’t even consider it as an option. And I know I am not alone. There are plenty of college students who love to read but feel like they no longer have the time or feel it is not worth the effort. Even though I am guilty of not giving reading for fun more attention than I give social media I regret that so many others are falling into the same situation as I am. Reading is great, and I know that, but by not considering reading a pastime, I am missing out on time I could be spending with great books and experiencing great stories I used to relish in.
But shouldn’t reading be fun? Especially for those who are in college and enjoy academics, we should be the ones most likely to read for leisure. Most students I know want to read, but feel like they don’t have the time. While there are some students who genuinely have no time to do any leisure activities at all (looking at you, pre-med students), if there is time for Netflix and chill, why can’t college students pick up a novel for fun? Just imagine if instead of looking at their phones students would pull out books while they eat or while they wait for the professor to start class?
One argument is that we read all the time for classes so a mindless activity such as Netflix is more enjoyable and relaxing. But reading can be fun and a lot of the people who used to read for fun in high school had heavy course loads and found a way to balance it then, but choose not to now. The extra hour in the afternoon spent watching YouTube videos or staring at a closed textbook could be better used in reading that great book your aunt gave to you at Christmas but never opened.
Education is something we are largely choosing to do. No longer if you skip school will truancy be an issue. The responsibility is on the student; we are being educated as a choice, not a chore. So why, then, are the most academic students falling out of love with books and reading? There are a million great books waiting to be read, and the joy of reading is all something we feel when we actually do it. Joy is a great motivator to learn and for successful engagement in any discipline. Everyone could fun a book to read and enjoy, but few actually consider it as an option, and this is a real fault in college culture.
