When I first moved into my dorm, I had approximately 15 books shoved in all the empty spaces I could find after all my “necessities” were packed. My reading-for-pleasure books were a necessity to me, though—much to my dad’s chagrin—so into the boxes they went. “Wait, are you going to read all of those?” My new roommate asks as I carefully place my books on the window sill. I thought that after graduating high school, I would have so much free timeto read all the books I couldn’t read during my 8 hours of classes each day. I was so excited to only have 2 classes a day, thinking that even with all my papers and exams I would still have plenty of time for reading. Then I looked at my syllabi.
As an English major, I am required to readaround 5 or 6 books per English class. As a liberal arts student, I have to read at least 100 pages per night for my other required classes. Because of this, reading was the very last thing I wanted to do after I finished my homework. I was so distraught. I had always proclaimed my love of reading to anyone who would listen, so to find myself completely unmotivated to read for pleasure was disconcerting. I never wanted to think of reading as a chore, so throughout the school year I would choose Netflix and the internet over reading most days.
Since leaving college for the semester around one and a half months ago, I have rediscovered my love for reading. I suddenly want to devour every book Isee, knowing that in a few short months I will go back to resenting anything that has words on it. New York City is especially great for booklovers—you can read a book on the subway, in a park, in a coffee shop. Spending a whole day reading on a beautiful summer day—or even a dreary, rainy day—is when I am at my happiest. While summer jobs, internships, and volunteering are important, it is just as important to spend your summer making yourself happy by doing something you love. Especially while I’m young, I intend to use summer to do what I love and not let myself be hung up on all the responsibilities of the school year.
Stacy, Intern for Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press. This is a shared blog post for Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press.