Remember when they told us that college would be a lot of reading back in senior year of high school? Teachers warned us it would be as intense as AP World History was back in sophomore year. I thought to myself, scoffing, nothing could ever require as many notes and hours spent reading as AP World. Famous last words, anyone?
Freshman year came and there was 'recommended' reading to do before you attended lecture. Like most freshmen, I was bombarded with eighteen billion things to do all around campus so the reading assignments slipped into the background. Sure, I would skim the section titles in chemistry and I would actually do my Theology readings because they were short and interesting but everything else? Hmm, oh wait, there is glow-in-the-dark putt-putt on North Quad? Pfft, I'll do my reading tomorrow. Always tomorrow, always tomorrow.
Fast forward to sophomore year. I have more reading assignments that I could have ever dreamed of. Lecture (cough biology) is based on the book and even goes in the same order with the same pictures. I had two choices: I could do what I did freshman year and skim the readings and take good notes in lecture which worked out pretty well, or I could actually try to do the readings.
For now, I'm attempting to do all of the required readings before lecture class. Never have I had less free time! I don't know if I ever comprehended exactly how long it takes to read an academic book. I can devour a 500 page Harry Potter book in a few hours and retain everything that happened, no problem, but sit me down with my Anthropology text and twenty pages drags on for an hour!
I don't quite know why there is such a huge difference but it's a problem I need to solve as hundreds of pages of biology and organic chemistry reading pile up on me! Don't forget that the level of events to attend have only increased since freshman year. Now there are things that I care about that I have committed to: things I can't skip off because I have a little extra reading to do.
I remember when we watched American Pie and thought college was going to be nothing but weekends right after each other with no work. Oh naiveté, where have you gone?
Freshman year came and there was 'recommended' reading to do before you attended lecture. Like most freshmen, I was bombarded with eighteen billion things to do all around campus so the reading assignments slipped into the background. Sure, I would skim the section titles in chemistry and I would actually do my Theology readings because they were short and interesting but everything else? Hmm, oh wait, there is glow-in-the-dark putt-putt on North Quad? Pfft, I'll do my reading tomorrow. Always tomorrow, always tomorrow.
Fast forward to sophomore year. I have more reading assignments that I could have ever dreamed of. Lecture (cough biology) is based on the book and even goes in the same order with the same pictures. I had two choices: I could do what I did freshman year and skim the readings and take good notes in lecture which worked out pretty well, or I could actually try to do the readings.
For now, I'm attempting to do all of the required readings before lecture class. Never have I had less free time! I don't know if I ever comprehended exactly how long it takes to read an academic book. I can devour a 500 page Harry Potter book in a few hours and retain everything that happened, no problem, but sit me down with my Anthropology text and twenty pages drags on for an hour!
I don't quite know why there is such a huge difference but it's a problem I need to solve as hundreds of pages of biology and organic chemistry reading pile up on me! Don't forget that the level of events to attend have only increased since freshman year. Now there are things that I care about that I have committed to: things I can't skip off because I have a little extra reading to do.
I remember when we watched American Pie and thought college was going to be nothing but weekends right after each other with no work. Oh naiveté, where have you gone?
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