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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

arts

COLUMN: Arts columnist plans to restart habit of regular reading

Arts Filler

When I was young, I was an avid reader. I frequented my local library, asked my parents for books for my birthdays and holidays, and finished books as quickly as I possibly could.

I especially enjoyed mystery or fantasy books — “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings” and Agatha Christie novels. As a child, there were fewer distractions in everyday life, but reading was a way I could escape from reality.

As a college student, finding time to read is much more difficult. During my time at IU, I have put reading on the backburner. I often start books and don’t finish them until months later, if I finish them at all.

My habit of reading began to recede in high school. I never used to watch live television, but when streaming became popular, I suddenly had instant access to more movies and TV shows than I could possibly watch. I was hooked, and I haven’t been able to prioritize reading over watching television since.

In college it is even more difficult to find balance between hard work and relaxation. Like most college students, any time I do not spend in class or doing hours of reading I want to use for extracurricular activities such as spending time with my friends.

Despite the challenges I am excited to get back into reading. I always think about how I miss picking up a good book and losing myself in it. It might take more effort than watching an episode of television on Netflix while distractedly scrolling through my phone, but reading provides its own benefits.

Reading makes you think and engage with a story in a much different way from other multimedia. I can binge watch episode after episode of television, but it becomes mind-numbing at some point in a way reading never does. Reading forces me to use my imagination and draw my own conclusions.

I am both excited and nervous for what this semester will bring, but I’m happy to know that I will be getting back into reading. This column will give me the push I need to explore many different types of books and stories. Although I prefer reading fiction, I will also try to find interesting nonfiction stories for the column.

My goal for the semester is to average a book a week so I have fresh material for the column. Breaking my Netflix habit will be difficult, but I think if I make it a priority to read some every day, it won’t be too much of a challenge.

Although I have fallen away from reading, I still get nostalgic when I think about how excited it used to make me. Like most people from my generation, I fell in love with the “Harry Potter” series, which ultimately sparked my interest in reading.

My love for reading and writing led me to becoming a journalism student, so it’s important to remember how much it really did influence my life. I’m eager to see where it will take me this semester, and hopefully I can stick with it in the future as well.

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