Navigating the complex world of college is especially difficult for students today. Between classes, clubs and maintaining a semblance of a social life, there is hardly any time left for anything but sleeping and eating. With all this pressure and living in a Netflix world, college girls are finding it harder and harder to fit reading into their busy schedule. Here are some tips and reasons on how and why to fit more reading into your daily routine.
1. Always have a book on you. It may feel like throughout the day you won’t have any time to squeeze in reading, but those extra 15 minutes between classes is the perfect time to squeeze in a couple pages. Instead of reaching for your phone, pick up a book instead.
2. Take advantage of the free newspapers around campus. If reading novels isn’t your thing you can always catch up on current events or even guilty pleasure reading. Challenge yourself to do this once a week.
3. Instead of binge watching your favorite Netflix show, tell yourself you will only watch one episode. Then read the rest of the time. Before you know it, you’ll be reaching for a book instead of the computer.
4. Don’t give up. It’s always difficult to start reading once you’re used to avoiding it. But once you’ve gotten into a routine it is rewarding and changes your entire outlook.
Why is reading so important?
When I read, it takes me to a place separate from everyone and everything I know. Whether I am reading classic literature or the newest YA novel, I am transported to a place outside of reality, and there is something truly liberating about that. When you read you live a life completely separate from your own; you travel to places you haven’t been and meet people you would have never known. I’ve partied with the people of West Egg and fought alongside rebels in a dystopian North America; I’ve lived in Victorian England and a war-torn Europe. When you read you not only broaden your vocabulary, but your perspective on the world. Books, poetry, newspapers, magazines, even the comics are vital to discovering more about yourself and humanity. Finding the perfect combination of words that somehow not only form a thought but evoke a feeling within you is the most powerful thing language can do. And that is why reading matters.
Photo credit: Google Images