The Brown Bookstore bag rested gently atop my roommate’s embroidered duvet cover. The plastic was just opaque enough to keep me guessing about what was inside. I wondered if her highlighters had run out of ink, or she needed a second notebook to keep track of derivatives and integrals. I couldn’t help but take a quick peek. But I wish I hadn’t. What I found intimidated me to my core.
She bought a book to read for pleasure.
I knew Brown students were highly accomplished, and that I might feel inferior to some of my outstanding peers when I first arrived on campus. It seemed like almost everyone I met was either a National Merit Scholar or a computer science wizard with a best-selling app… or both. But after a while, I became numb to this intimidation due to its sheer volume.
Now it seems like being super talented and busy isn’t enough. Rather, it has become the norm—a base level to build upon further. And the answer isn’t to add a fifth class, or to start a new club, or to pull yet another all-nighter in the Sci Li. That’s already been done.
Self-care is in vogue. By reading for pleasure and not just for class, my roommate somehow managed to balance the classic Brown student overachievement with having her shit together and not being totally overwhelmed all at once.
This semester, my goals are not as lofty as securing that super selective internship to establish my future career, or getting President Christina Paxson P’19 to give me a shout-out while walking her dogs across the Main Green (a girl can dream, though). Instead, I’m going to get my work done, take care of myself, and maybe, if I’m feeling really motivated, I might even get 8 hours of sleep.
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