Currently Reading: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and the graphic novel Daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon

Sometimes when life feels hectic it’s nice just to sit down in the coziest corner of your room and read.

This week was hectic and yet, my stress has only begun: I had my first college exam today, with my second one only days away. On top of that, I will be working 27 hours at my new job this weekend. These hours are merely for training purposes and should shrink considerably by next week, yet for now, it means a few rain rides worth of studying biology.

And so, in all the chaos, I read.

Along with my own personal ventures, I read “The Swimmer” by John Cheever for psychopathology. As I “dove” into the day of Neddy Merrill, I’ll admit I was quite confused at first. I remember thinking, “who on earth would commit to such an adventure?” Yet this confusion only drew me in more. I loved finding the hidden meaning behind each line and I especially found it interesting to see how my peers viewed the protagonist’s character traits. I was intrigued by both the contrasting perspectives and the similarities to my own take on the story.

Writing this now, I see the irony in my judgments on Neddy’s defense mechanisms. Just as Neddy used swimming as his escape from reality, I use reading as mine. Isn’t it funny how humans crave this distraction, this momentary bliss..?