It’s November. The cold has set in, assignments are piling up and exams are about to rear their ugly head. Let’s face it: I could use enough caffeine to induce a heart attack followed by a bolt of lightning to jumpstart it again. Anyone with common sense would say this is not the article I should be writing. To be entirely fair, I’m not known for making logical decisions.
The truth is, school can be utterly exhausting, even when you’re studying what you love. I often feel like school is draining the literal life out of me; there simply isn’t enough time to finish all of my academic work when I’m working the two jobs I need so I can afford to do my academic work in the first place (thanks Doug Ford). It’d be easy for me to say, “solve it with self care!” Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big advocate for the idea, but I often can’t even find the time for it in my daily life.
This year, I was fortunate enough to squeeze every class I need to graduate into my last year of school, with room to spare. But instead of taking that time off, I’ve decided to fill it up… with more school. Which means more readings, extra essays and another exam. Seems counterproductive, doesn’t it?
It turns out, having courses you take for fun can be a small break from the ones you have to do. This semester I added on “Sex, Death, and Philosophy”—an English course on the Libertinist movement in Britain during the 16th century. Prior to this, my experience with sexuality in British literature had been largely informed by the repressive nature of the Victorians. It turns out that in the preceding period, literary culture was dominated by writers who were completely unabashed about their perpetual state of lust—and trust me, Shakespeare’s dick jokes have nothing on the Earl of Rochester’s raunchy poems.
We all know that assigned readings can be dry; doesn’t it make sense to throw in course readings you’re excited about? When my mind starts to glaze over what I have to get through—because after all, transcriptions of law cases and Ancient Greek philosophy aren’t always the most riveting reads—it’s nice to be able to take a break with 16th century poets whining about their erectile dysfunction. It doesn’t matter how stressed I am; reading a member of English aristocracy call himself “a common fucking post” never fails to make me laugh.
It’s fun. It reminds me of why I can say that I love studying what I do. And the benefits don’t stop there.
Take last summer. I spent my so-called break completing my Minor in Ethics. I wasn’t fully looking forward to it; I figured a semester without English would drive me insane. So naturally, I decided to add on an extra English course for each Philosophy course I took. Because I had no degree requirements left to tie me down, I took whatever seemed interesting: in this case, an online class in science fiction and an on campus class in pop culture.
The science fiction class wasn’t too much work; it was essentially making me schedule time to read things I wanted to, but would’ve thought I couldn’t make time for. The pop culture class may have been an extra six hours a week in a lecture hall, but lectures ended up being three hours of discussing which Batman films were better.
For the first time, I was absolutely enthralled by what I was learning; enough so that I, a usually quiet student, couldn’t keep my mouth shut. I spoke as much as the all-dreaded mansplainer. Maybe more. This wasn’t restricted to those fun courses either; I started entering the discussion in all of my classes. I felt I was actually engaging with the material, rather than merely absorbing it. My averages skyrocketed across the board, and I didn’t feel like I was working any harder than usual—if anything, it felt like less.
One would think that the extra exams would have put a damper on things, but I felt more prepared prior to studying than I ever have in the past, even after a few days of cramming. It turns out it’s true: being engaged in class discussion has its benefits. But putting all of that aside, I found that even the required studying became less stressful. Of course I spent nights feverishly making notes for my human rights course, but even my productivity-obsessed mind could reasonably take breaks from the stress by preparing for my pop culture exam. Studying became the equivalent of guilt-free procrastination, as I spent an equal amount of time binge watching Black Mirror, Rick and Morty and Game of Thrones—all relevant material for the exam. I walked into the exams calm and oddly relaxed, and why wouldn’t I be? I was well rested and I knew my shit.
I know it would be ridiculous to insist that taking an extra class will be beneficial for everyone—some people will be stressed out by the extra requirements, even if they’re interesting and fun. However, if you have the extra space for it, I highly recommend trying it at least once. I have no doubt that academically and mentally, it’s led to the best semesters I’ve ever had. What’s the harm? Worst case you find it isn’t for you and drop it before the deadline.
Related Articles
Want more HCW? Check us out on social media!
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest
Subscribe to our newsletter!