Well, it has arrived—the last week of school. And while our focus is still on finishing well, I thought I’d take the opportunity these last four days to recommend a few things you might consider doing this summer.
My first suggestion: Read a book because you want to, not because you have to. Frederick Douglass, the former slave turned abolitionist leader, said: “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
But here’s the rub: It is only in reading—not in merely knowing how to read—that you will ever experience that freedom. There is a bit of irony in the fact that at school you are compelled to read, that it is required—but that is precisely so that one day, you will, we hope, choose to read. Summer break is an ideal time to practice choosing well.
For as Confucious said, “You must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” Your summer likely will be marked by an abundance of free time—let me encourage you to spend some of it actually being free. Read a book because you want to, not because you have to.
Have a wonderful day.
