With class, homework, clubs, organizations, sports, musical groups, time with friends, and of course, nap time, life as a college student can become incredibly busy. It can be difficult to schedule in time to watch your favorite TV shows, especially now, as they are all starting to have their fall season premieres. Personally, as someone who probably watches way too much television, in these past few weeks, I have already missed a few premieres of some of my favorite shows, and I fear for what is to come.
For some, this may sound silly, but for me, television has been quite an integral part of my upbringing. I don’t watch TV in the “I want to melt my brain cells” type of way, but rather, I enjoy immersing myself in lives that are different than my own. By watching various television programs with distinct themes, genres, and characters, I feel as though I am expanding my social, cultural, and political understanding, rather than wasting time. I also think that in this day in age with the rapid progression of technology, it is enthralling to be able to see firsthand the evolution of such a fast-changing medium of entertainment and information.
With this in mind, the fact that I have simply been too busy to set aside time for something that I not only enjoy but also I feel cultivates my intellectual and mental health makes me upset. When I came to college, I knew I would have far less time to do much other than work, especially since that’s the whole reason why I came to school: to learn how to think more critically and prepare myself for the workforce. But I did not anticipate the sadness and frustration I would feel in these first weeks of the fall semester when all of my favorite shows would start premiering. Between readings, essay writing, and preparing for midterms, I have forgotten to take time for myself.
Both school and watching television turn me into a critical thinker—one through reading, writing, and discussion and the other through analyzing characters and their relationships and speculating about what is to come in the remaining episodes. They are both aspects of my life that I enjoy; so why have I completely prioritized one over the other?
Now don’t get me wrong—in no way am I saying that watching TV is more important than receiving an education. However, I do think it is incredibly important to cut out a place in our busy lives as college students for the things that we really enjoy, whether that be reading a few chapters of a book just for fun, testing out a new makeup tutorial that you watched on YouTube, playing a round of cards with your friends, or watching the season premiere of American Horror Story.
It is absolutely acceptable to allow ourselves to take a break, and it actually can be extremely beneficial to do so. Constantly working and thinking about what needs to be done increases stress levels, and it becomes far too difficult to accomplish anything when you feel extreme pressure to do so. That’s why it is necessary to get your mind off of schoolwork for just a little bit, and instead, open up your mind by temporarily switching to an activity that requires a different type of thinking. And now, I am going to take my own advice. Grey’s Anatomy is waiting for me.