Does Reading For Fun in College Still Exist?

I knew what I signed up for when I became an English major...for the most part at least. In my mind, being an English major meant being able to read all the time, write (probably about the books) and talk about literature with other people who had the same passion for it. It was made for me.

Well, I was right in some way about all of these things, but I didn't realize just how demanding being an English major would be. As I prepare to enter my senior year in the fall, I look back on the various English classes I've taken over the last three years, including: Chaucer, Shakespeare, History of the English Language, Creative Writing, Poetry, Classics of Western Literature and Writing as a Discipline, among many others. In all of these classes I read articles, short stories, poetry, whole books and wrote an surplus of essays ranging from two to twenty-five pages. Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed being an English major and have no regrets whatsoever (especially since math and I never have and never will mix). However, it has eliminated a lot of time I would ordinarily have to read for fun. I feel like that's a commonality amongst all majors, not just English.

With the unavoidable craziness of a college schedule, reading for fun absolutely falls to the wayside. In every class, even excluding English-related ones, there will be reading in some shape or form as well as a ton of other work.  For instance, one semester I was taking six courses and an internship, all while balancing another on-campus job and theatre (which I am heavily involved in at school).

Needless to say, this didn't leave me much time to read, or even relax for that matter. Even when I wanted to pick up a book to read for fun and had the time dedicate to it, I had that pang of guilt that I wasn't reading War and Peace for my English class, or that the poems I was supposed to critique for the next day weren't finished yet. Not only that, but sometimes I would just have zero energy (another commonality amongst college students).

After a long day of test taking, essay writing, and running from class to class you will most likely feel like your brain can't even form words anymore, let alone read them from a page. This is where Netflix has become the biggest blessing and curse of a college student's life.

There is probably a five foot tall stack of "pleasure reads" that I have accumulated over the last three years that remain unread and still smell like Barnes & Noble. I've always meant to read them but a test, or an essay, or something else has always taken priority. At this point I've stopped buying new books and now just make lists whenever I go into the bookstore, because I never know when I'll get around to them. This list is as long as my arm, but I'll get to them someday don't you worry.

That is why I have set as one of my personal goals for senior year,to read at least one book per month for fun. Not only is reading something I truly enjoy, but it makes me feel much better about myself than binge-watching the entire series of Friends for the sixth time. Reading for class is important, but reading for fun, in my opinion, is almost more crucial at this point in my life. As I get older I realize how many things I do just because I HAVE to, and how many of my passions as a younger kid have been compromised because of that. Reading is something that I WANT to do, but its being domineered by academics when it doesn't have to be and I can absolutely do both! Hopefully as my college career winds down I will be able to accomplish my goal and have a lot of great new book titles to share with all of you :)

Wish me luck!