The Beauty of a Story

I explained what New Years Resolutions are to my students today. The general air of the room was one of skepticism. Why on earth was I asking them to write down something they wanted to do this year? These elementary students didn’t know what they wanted to do tomorrow, let alone for a whole year. When asked what book they want to read this year, most of them pulled a book out of their desk, the very next one they wanted to read. When asked what food they want to try this year, most of them were at a loss. What new food could possibly be worth trying?

It reminded me that New Years Resolutions are, on the whole, an adult thing. It is only when we have a sense of what a year is that we begin to make commitments to our vision of how this year should be. Most children (in my experience) see time as a series of today’s. Today my friend is my best friend, another today they are my worst enemy. Today is what there is, no more and no less. As they get older, they grow into to a sense of time. Then resolutions make more sense, they know tomorrow will come and they get to decide what tomorrow will look like. But for now, my students are very skeptical of commitments to the future.

I always make New Years Resolutions. Even when I tell myself I won’t, I still do. I can’t resist the planners, the words of the year, the promises and resolutions. It is a brand new year in which to make myself over again. Like a blank page, a new year is full of possibilities.

I tried to keep my resolutions minimal this year, no crazy plans or grandiose resolutions. I say tried, I guess time will tell how big my plans actually are.

In keeping my resolutions small, or trying to, I completely ignored a category I always make resolutions in. There are no resolutions in the category of books. I often make a resolution or two in this category. For example, to read one book at a time, or to read a new genre, or to finish a series.

This year, I intentionally decided not to do this. There were many reasons which went into this decision. However, one stand out in my mind.

Reading has become a chore.

I read to get through books, not to enjoy them. I read with one eye on the page count, wondering when the book will end. I chug through novels because I think I should read them, instead of reading them because I want to. I avoid reading, refusing to make eye contact with the sad bookmarks stuck halfway through books I should really get to sometime.

So I have decided to un to do list reading. I decided to step away from a book club (I was in two, and as much as I like them, it does rather add to the to do list aspect), I got rid of the piles of books waiting to be read, and donated books I have held onto because it seemed like a very literary thing to read. And, as I have said, I didn’t make any resolutions.

I will read as many books at the same time as I want. I will start books, ditch books, maybe circle back to them again, or maybe not. I won’t put rules on my reading, and what I should and should not read if I have the audacity to call myself a bookworm. Basically, if it has even the faintest whiff of ‘must’, I am not worrying about it.

I guess you could say my bookish resolution is to not make any resolutions. Instead, I will simply go with the flow of the year and see where it takes me.

What are your resolutions (or not resolutions) for this year?

Shaina Merrick