Once upon a time, clocks seemed to tick endlessly as elementary students counted down the seconds until library doors would burst open for the beloved annual book fair. Our single-digit-aged selves rampaged through shelves, clawing for the latest editions of classics like Junie B. Jones, Magic Tree House, or Diary of a Wimpy Kid. No sensation paralleled the thrill of flipping through the pages of a freshly-purchased paperback, ripe to be consumed by insatiable imaginations.
Skip ahead a couple of decades, and our generational interests have shifted seismically. Our fleeting attention can only be held by pixelated screens for 15-second segments of polished reality, yet we often fail to acknowledge the truth that these highlight reels are often more fictitious than the fantastical tales of childhood. In place of bookshelves and library cards, layers of doom-scrolling dust compound within our headspaces and living spaces, filling our minds with (mostly) useless information and chipping away at possibilities for us to draw insights about our world.
In the wake of blistering boredom or persistent peskiness, we have all had at least one person in our lives tell us to “pick up a book” — which tends to render one even less inclined to give even the highest-rated YA on Goodreads a shot. However, I believe that inspiration is best embraced when motivated intrinsically, so allow me to entertain those who seek to improve as students, friends, interviewees, adventurers. Without further ado, here are four steps to guide you to the ultimate conviction that perhaps you really should pick up a book.
1. A marathon for your mind: Just like going for a jog can get your heart rate going, reading boosts brain power, working to prevent memory deterioration and augment neural connectivity. So, if you really want to hyperfixate on longevity, your best bet might be to hang up those running sneaks in exchange for some reading glasses!
2. A snuggle for your synapses: Despite what your high school AP Literature class might have led you to believe, reading can actually reduce your stress levels by as much as 68% in only six minutes. And, don’t quote me on this, but adding a warm shower and a sweet treat to this routine could ease up to 100% of your worries!
3. An ailment for your attention span: For now, a 50-minute lecture might feel like the never-ending equivalent of 60 TikToks; however, expert readers guarantee that novice bookworms can expect to lose themselves in the hours that slip like soft whispers through the cracks of time, endless minutes crumbling into mere moments.
4. A refresher for your relationships: Too many of us have friends who delusionally reside in a land of seemingly incomprehensible reasoning, so much so that empathizing with their thoughts and feelings poses a daunting task. However, reading fiction, in particular, has been shown to heighten our ability to understand the emotions of others — yes, even those spontaneous epiphanies that are truly, overwhelmingly theatrical.
With a good book in your hands and a smarter brain on your shoulders, you’re a couple steps closer to the fairytale ending you’ve always yearned for. And this step count can shrink a bit more if we take advantage of the opportunities made available to us as members of the Vanderbilt community. The Dare to Read Collective, for example, collaborates with campus partners to counteract literary bans and celebrate the joy of inclusive reading. Those Commodores who fall somewhere within the crossover of baker and book-lover should attend the organization’s annual Edible Books Festival next April, during which community members display their favorite books in edible forms. I guess that some stories truly are meant to be devoured!
So, let’s rekindle the great fairytales of our imaginations and flip through a couple pages. Maybe then we can all live Happily Ever After.
(The End.)
References
“Dare to Read Collective.” Vanderbilt University, https://researchguides.library.vanderbilt.edu/daretoread.
Le Cunff, Anne-Laure. “Ness Labs: Brain Benefits of Reading.” Ness Labs, 4 April 2024, https://newsletter.nesslabs.com/posts/ness-labs-brain-benefits-of-reading.
Wise, Abigail. “9 Benefits of Reading Print Books, According to Science.” Real Simple, 4 June 2024, https://www.realsimple.com/health/preventative-health/benefits-of-reading-real-books.
