Being an undergraduate student, you have a lot of free time. And in that time, you are expected to be occupying yourself with ‘independent study’. Of course! Although I think we all know that ‘independent study’ is a common synonym for ‘watching Netflix all day and waiting for responsibilities to go away’.
One of these responsibilities includes reading. Amongst other work, studying, essay drafting, reading is one of the more dreaded tasks to complete off the old ‘To Do’ list.
Why, oh, why, must three painful hours of staring at parts of a deceased tree be so vital for our degree? (I’m a poet, and I don’t know it).
Most of the time, nothing is going in, and you’ve consumed about another boxful of tea bags while trying to concentrate. A few more chapters, and you give up. Watching the Friends episode you’ve seen so many times just cannot compare to reading about these dull topics which almost make your eyes bleed. PIVOT. (That was a Friends reference, for those who don’t watch the show, i.e. those who also need to seriously re-evaluate their priorities in life.)
Once you put down the book you breathe out a sigh of relief, that’s until you realise that you have a shelf and half full left to read, and that’s just for one module. There can only be two possibly resolutions to this mare: the wonderful joys of film/tv adaptations, which basically sets you up anyway, or the option for the more desperate students: SparkNotes – the dark place wherein all lecturer’s wrath lies!
At the end of the day, the reading lists are simply impossible to keep up with. Especially if you have exams or extra stuff to be doing, like the endless pursuit of written coursework.
So, remember The Golden Rule: if in doubt, see if the film is out!
