Picture this: You’re sitting in Bertrand, reading the same paragraph five times over, and scoping the courtyards for a savior sent to socialize. The thought of returning to your assigned reading is nauseating, but the thought of forfeiting your hard-won study spot is unfathomable. The solution? Active recovery. Instead of throwing your perfectly positioned spot to the pack of hungry wolves circling looking for their own, try reading these five NYT articles to simultaneously give yourself a break while making it seem like you’re still dialed in:
1. This 2019 New York Times Modern Love Essay Contest Winning Entry: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/03/style/modern-love-sister-vanished.html?module=inline
Kayleigh Leddy, a recent Boston College graduate, wrote this essay about love, our increasingly convoluted relationship with social media, grief, and pseudo-closure. This essay will take your breath away every time, and will make you want to hold your loved ones a little bit closer.
2. This interactive deep-dive into President Trump’s tweets, their content, and their global reach: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/02/us/politics/trump-twitter-presidency.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
Regardless of your political ideology, this analysis offers extremely interesting and detailed insight into the role that Twitter has played in Trump’s presidency. This article has the ability to stand alone.
3. This moving Op-Ed by Mary Cain, the youngest American track & field athlete to make a World Championship team, about the earth-shattering pressures that came with her success: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/07/opinion/nike-running-mary-cain.html
Mary Cain experienced a fantastic skyrocket into athletic success at just thirteen years old, but her subsequent fall from such a height was even more dramatic. Forced into a toxic culture of “faster, faster, faster” and “thinner, thinner, thinner,” Mary found herself at high-risk of infertility, osteoporosis, and countless other health complications. This personal story offers a look into the world of female sports, expectations, and a perversion to something that is supposed to spur joy.
4. This article about the productivity potential of the four-day work week: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/business/four-day-work-week.html
As younger generations have begun to shift their priorities toward balance and fulfillment rather than profit and productivity, the four-day work week has regained traction. Studies globally suggest that cutting down the work week will not only result in greater employee happiness and work-life balance, but will also lead to a boost in overall productivity. Sounds like a win-win to me…
5. This sweet and easy read about finding the right person at the wrong time and what can happen with a little faith: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/style/modern-love-lets-meet-again-in-five-years.html
This story shares the same scaffolding as many romantic comedies: two young people fall in love, life gets in the way, they part, but the divine tides of love bring them back together. However, the pragmatism of this story makes it all that much more poignant. The take home of this practical romance? Sometimes all happily-ever-after takes is steady patience and the courage to simply show up.