Blog Post #6: Make Time to Read

I attended a workshop yesterday, on the subject of social change. It was my first time sitting in a room with a group of people for the sole purpose of discussing social change. Listening to the guest speakers, one particular line stood out to me.  “Build in time to read.” No matter how busy life gets, we will always be lifelong learners. My mom used to repeat a Chinese saying to me all the time, that translates to something like “squeeze the time out”. If you have something you really want to accomplish, you will find the time. Hearing someone say “make time to read” stood out to me because it brought me back to an earlier time in my life. When I was in elementary school, I read every single day. I remember my third grade teacher reminding us to write “read 20 minutes” in our planners, and I would laugh to myself because I never needed a reminder to plop myself on the couch with a crunchy green apple and a good book. Looking back, elementary school was one of the happiest periods of my life. I lived in our whimsical house filled with the artwork of both me and my younger sister. My mom always hung our artwork no matter how chaotic it was. Our backyard was the only playground we needed, although sometimes I preferred to stay inside reading. I think my love for books contributed to my love for life as an elementary schooler. I could get lost in so many different worlds outside of my current reality, a necessary reminder that the world is greater than myself. As I heard another guest speaker say yesterday, language shapes reality. That’s why books, music, and the arts are so important. Song lyrics can give us a sense of a shared reality. “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind”. The next time I feel stuck, I won’t hesitate to open up a book. We’re on this earth together, and we might as well learn from those who have walked before us.