Reading week is a waste of time

Don’t lie to yourself, you were never going to read Hamlet

| UPDATED books Literature reading time week

Those of us who are graced with the privilege of having a reading week know that reading is definitely not on the agenda.

Or we plan for it to be when we’re feeling motivated by too many Red Bulls, but then we crash and become unable to even recognise our mother tongue.

Reading I should have should’ve/would’ve/could’ve done.

I didn’t read last Reading Week. I didn’t do anything productive. Nobody does.

Instead I stared out the window watching the bin men, wondering what I’m doing with my life. Reading Week leaves you with such boredom and so much time on your hands that you end up having an existential crisis – I can live without them.

You know what I’m talking about: it’s one of those days where your effort levels are at minus four and the thought of writing that piece of writing that has some ridiculous word count of 1857.99999999, makes you cry and ring your mum for help.

Life…

I Snapchatted my parents constantly. Despite my parents having a busy work life, I believed that reading week for me must mean that everyone else isn’t busy like it’s some sort of national holiday.

Or the assumption that because I am their daughter, if they don’t reply to everything I send them then I am either unloved or adopted.

I avoided work with such dedication that I even made some new friends, because mine were at lectures and what else am I supposed to do for at least 6 hours till people return?

Pretty much everyday of the week, my flatmates returned to me still in my pyjamas, sporting a hideous hair style that probably hadn’t been washed for two days.

That’s just not a good working environment, and it’s lonely. Another reason we shouldn’t have Reading Week.

Would rather it was a glass of wine

Because of the sheer boredom of being locked up in my room, I felt a needed an adrenaline kick of some sort and possibly some fresh air considering that I hadn’t stepped outside since the start of reading week because… effort.

In order to satisfy my inner adrenaline-junkie: I took a selfie on the floor of Ashton Memorial. It made me feel like a rebel, sue me.

We’ve gone mad

All in all, I guess it was a productive week right? I “spent” some time with family, I  made some new lifelong friends and went on some adventures.

I’m pretty sure i found myself with all the time I had, at least that’s what I’m going to tell my seminar tutors when they ask me how productive my reading week has been.

Because nobody spends it working – it’s a waste of time and an excuse to slob out and be bored. It shouldn’t exist.