As I write this article, I am thinking about how I never have free time. Part of this is the way I pack my schedule, but I think it’s also a part of being a college student. One thing I miss when I’m at college is reading for leisure, but even if I did have more free time I think I would spend it napping or thoroughly doing my assigned readings instead of skimming so that I can participate in class.
My elementary school had a part of the day rationed out for D.E.A.R., which stands for “Drop Everything and Read.” I resented D.E.A.R. because, as an elementary schooler, I didn’t want to use my brain any more than I was required. I didn’t value reading like I do today and looking back, I regret it. I wish I could tell my 7-year-old self, “Just drop everything and read because you don’t know this yet, but college will prevent you from ever finishing a book outside of homework.”
I also make goals to read books for fun over breaks, but summer break seems to be the only sufficient time for me to really sit down and read a good book and enjoy it. However, my next summer will consist of a full-time internship and then a job every summer after. Reading isn’t just for kids, but it seems like whenever we have a few seconds to ourselves now, we just fall asleep or watch Netflix.
In my English class about Ernest Hemingway, we have to finish books so quickly that I don’t get to read it like I would if I was on the beach and taking my time to relish the novel. I wish I could have had a month to soak in all the imagery and great writing in "A Farewell to Arms," rather than just scrambling to finish so I can talk knowledgeably about the theme of “loss” in a group presentation to my classmates. When I tried to explain the plot to someone a few weeks later, I could only remember the quotes that I had selected for my part of the discussion. So did I really read the book, or did I just complete the assignment? I took the class because I figured it would be the best of both worlds: being assigned to leisurely read, but it turned out to be a lesson in how to speed read and skim for profound quotes.
I’m not trying to propose the D.E.A.R. program for college, but I think that professors need to account for our other classes, extracurricular activities, filling out grad school applications and studying for standardized tests because, although it is possible to do all these things in conjunction, we end up having to drop commitments and miss out on time where we are taking care of our physical, emotional and mental health. We are so worried about what reading is due tomorrow that we push off writing that cover letter that will help us land an internship or a job. Once we are done with everything mandatory, we don’t even have time to think about picking up a good book and releasing stress. So maybe we don’t need to drop everything and read, but we need to drop everything and take care of ourselves and remember to live life and not just be a college student.
