Attending art school brings with it a good deal of stress. People have different ways of coping with this stress and with managing their time and obligations, but one way to deal with the pressure of classes and course work is to open a good book. Reading for fun is something that can help a student calm down after a long day and it’s stimulating to the imagination.
Some students have found reading to be a great stress reliever. Alexia Zarate, second-year writing major, said, “Reading is beneficial to everybody … not only are there the informative, erudite journals that help us know more about our life, but reading is fun. It’s a pastime that makes me happy and keeps me sane in those moments when I feel like I might have a psychotic break. In short, it holds me together.” Being able to take a break from stress with a book is beneficial to any student’s mental health.
Reading can also stimulate the creative process and help train people to think in different ways. Second-year television production major Jordan Di Pirro said, “Reading gives me new ideas that I can apply to my school projects.” Reading instills a thought process that is conducive to brainstorming and creative projects, as it causes the imagination to create a picture of what’s happening in the book based solely on the words on the page. The more practice the imagination gets, the easier it is to think creatively.
It is also beneficial for anyone interested in writing. Second-year animation major Kara Robson said, “Reading is beneficial if you are a writer of any kind and it is crucial to observe how others are doing it … You pick up on their writing styles, on their plots and pacing, and it helps you develop a critical eye over your own work. Even if it’s reading for fun, every story can be broken down to its main components, and it’s always nice to be able to learn from that.”
It doesn’t matter what kind of book you read either. Zarate said she reads, “Books about romance and moral dilemmas (such as Anna Karenina), but then I also enjoy stories with shock value to them. I’m not squeamish when it comes to gore or horror.” Di Pirro said, “I like to read anything young adult.” Robson said she likes to read, “Fantasy, supernatural, sci-fi, romance, adventure, and most young adult [books].” There’s a wide variety of books that people read, but the key is readers finding books they can really immerse themselves in. It seems that any book will do, so long as it helps the reader to temporarily escape from their stress and worry.
