We can't tell for sure, but we THINK Rafikiwock may have insulted us in his first paragraph. Buttever. We can take the heat.—Sparkitors
Hey you! Yeah, you! The zoned-out teenager staring glossy-eyed at your computer monitor! I demand your attention.
All eyes on me? Thanks. What are you doing on SparkLife? Giggling about Harry Potter? Taking a test to discover if your crush is right for you? Giving your mind absolutely nothing substantial to devour? Exactly.
Now ask yourself what you should be doing. If you said either reading or studying what you have been reading, then you are correct!
You see, as teenagers in these first-world cultures of ours, we have an unprecedented access to both books and free time. Very few of us take advantage of both.
In fact, I can all but guarantee you that you don’t take advantage of books. Sure, you have excuses, like “I’m too busy” or “books are boring” or “my librarian smells weird.” We all have things that distract us from important activities.
Reading should always be a priority. Let me say that again: Reading should always be a priority. It is the greatest mental exercise ever created. It enables you to converse with the greatest minds of all time.
Think about it: right now, you could be adventuring through Middle-earth with, wandering on the Italian front with Hemingway, or feeling the passion of Russia's political revolution with Dostoevsky! And yet, instead of taking a journey with one of these great authors, you’re probably half-heartedly skimming through your Facebook news feed.
A sad fact of life is that there are more good books to be read than we could possibly read in a lifetime. So this is my sole demand: Find the books worth reading and read them. Discuss them. Apply them. LEARN FROM THEM.
As impossible as it sounds, Harry Potter is not the pinnacle of literature. Think of Kafka, Hugo, Shelley, or Wilde. These are fascinating authors who wrote brilliantly. There is a fantastic amount of information not only on their writing but on their private lives, their beliefs, and their childhoods. Join the conversation! Be a voice in the rapidly growing literary world.
Many of you are already doing this. Keep it up. But the majority of us are just coasting through and reading only what seems interesting. Let’s put away this avoidance of difficult reading and embrace the challenge of learning outside of our AP Literature classes.
I am not bashing SparkLife; I think it’s an enjoyable study break and an awesome community. I am however, rebuking those who are content to spend hours taking quizzes and being grammar Nazis.
Still zoned-out and glossy eyed? I hope not. As this academic year starts, I challenge you to pursue excellence in reading literature and expanding your mind because of it.
Was this too heavy-handed? Did I come on too strong? Good! This was a literary pep talk! This is college boot camp! THIS IS SPARTTTAAAAAAA!
Do you view reading "only what seems interesting" as a bad thing? It's sort of been our literary philosophy up 'til now. Maybe we need to broaden our horizons. What are your views on spending time with literature vs. the internet?
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