Even as someone who claimed to love reading/writing her whole life, the truth was, by college, I very rarely read for fun. One of the main reasons was because there were too many alternatives: from social media to videos to endless feeds, there are now countless forms of media that are easier to consume than books.
In moderation, these new sources of entertainment can enhance and diversify the way we engage with the world. In excess, as most of us know, they can do the opposite. But even when I told myself reading was important, I had trouble committing to it. Reading took effort, didn't immediately inform or entertain me the way other media did, and ultimately, felt like a waste of time in a world where every second was rationed.
But recently (and ironically), a combination of more free time in the summer and a video I found on Youtube helped me think of reading in a new way. The crux was this: the "precious time" I thought I would waste by reading was in fact already being used up by things that had little value to me. Activities like mindlessly scrolling through feeds, though I only did them for seconds at a time, added up to countless minutes, half-hours, even hours per day. And the worst part was that despite this investment, it would never build into anything worthwhile.
Think about it this way: if you worked out for just 20 min a way, you would see amazing benefits to your health in just a few months. The commitment adds up. But digital entertainment? In the past year, I realized that I'd probably spent hundreds of hours on it, and yet had no meaningful wisdom, insight, or knowledge to show for it. If anything, the only rewards from these hours of investment were lethargy, cynicism, and empty dissatisfaction.
The same comparison applies to books. When I realized that a simple ten minutes of reading a day would not be eating into my free time, but instead, replacing that kind of numbing consumption, I felt a lot freer to sit down for an extended period of time and just read. And as the summer comes to a close, I have one key takeaway--the making of a reading habit is neither easy nor instantaneous, but its positive reward is abounding.
Reading is often not the most immediately stimulating activity available to us. Nine times out of ten, I can cure boredom much more efficiently by scrolling through a feed or watching a video. But unlike either of these activities, reading produces benefits that are long-term, and with the right material, add up to a lifetime of fulfillment, learning, and wonder for the world around us. From an increase in knowledge and appreciation for others' experiences, to even tangible improvements to mental health, the positive results of reading are endless.
So in short: more than ever, the act of reading is incredibly valuable! If anyone has been trying to get into it again, I hope watching that video gave you a little boost of inspiration the way it did for me.
And lastly, since it'd be a shame to not give a recommendation as that was the original purpose of the tag that started this: The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck. If you're like me, it's one of those books you've always known about but never thought to actually pick up and read, right? Well if you're looking for a sign, here it is: THIS BOOK IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST (TOP 3?? POSSIBLY THE BEST??) BOOKS I'VE READ IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS (YES, THAT'S INCLUDING THE FOUR YEARS I WAS LITERALLY AN ENGLISH MAJOR IN COLLEGE); IT IS BEAUTIFUL, WISE, UNASSUMING, YET STRIKINGLY HUMAN ALL AT ONCE AND IT'S FAMOUS ENOUGH WHERE LITERALLY ANY LIBRARY NEAR YOU WOULD HAVE IT SO YOU CAN EVEN GET IT FOR FREE SO PLEASE PLEASE CONSIDER GIVING IT A TRY
And let me know how it is if you do.
The Snoozy Cat has been in existence for four years now. Four years, and no one has asked me an incriminating, but important question: why cats?
The short answer is I actually have no idea. If I had to come up with an explanation, I guess it's because when I was first considering starting a blog with pictures, cats were just the easiest thing I knew how to draw. As an added bonus, if I drew myself as a white cat, I wouldn't have to bother with coloring or shading either. Putting it that way, I guess the artistic inspiration for this blog was efficiency and laziness.
But while my answer to why I am a cat on this blog is rather lackluster, my love for cats is the real deal. Once in a while, someone will ask me why I love cats so much and I become so overcome with emotion that I mentally explode. But there are legitimate reasons, really--I've just never had the opportunity to hash them out before. Thus, presenting...
The first reason is a no-brainer: cats love to sleep.
This is an age-old phenomenon. When I was young, I remember one of my favorite books was an illustrated book about cats. I read it cover-to-cover so many times that most of its intriguing factoids are seared in my subconscious to this day (for example, did you know that the Manx cat actually loves to swim, and the oldest cat lived to almost 40?)
The one that stuck out to me the most, though, was that cats will spend as much as two-thirds of their entire lives asleep. Think about that. If, at this very instant, I summoned three cats from the global cat population, chances are only one of them would be awake. Basically, the name "snoozy cat" is redundant. For cats, sleeping is just a way of life.
Another reason I love cats is because they're essential parts of being a cat lady, a vision I sometimes have for my future. It's not that I necessarily aspire to be devoid of human companionship into the dusk of my life. But once in a while, especially during winter break, I look at my disheveled face and uncombed hair in the mirror and think to myself, "Hey, at least you have a backup plan."
In fact, when I was younger, I often dreamed of a day when nothing would stop me from amassing as many cats as I wanted in my own home. I've since been hit with the harsh reality that my husband would probably never allow this, but nonetheless, the dream lives on. To this day, one of my first career goals is to be in a position where I can reasonably and comfortably support a cat.
People sometimes give me strange looks when I tell them this. I can understand the confusion. But if you think about it, it's a pretty good benchmark for life, the way I've set it up--basically, if you see me with a cat one day, you'll know I'm doing pretty well. For the unconvinced, a rigorous proof to explain my reasoning:
Sometimes I feel a bit sad that my intense love for cats seems to be a social anomaly. One of my worst memories from my primary school days was when a boy in my class got a puppy and bragged to the class about how dogs were the best pets in the world. When I asked him about cats, he looked at me incredulously and said, "Are you kidding? Cats are so annoying." I grew up in a pretty small town, so for the rest of my pre-college education, whenever I saw that boy, something in the back of my mind would get triggered and I'd remember he was a cat hater.
But anyway, I digress. I think this stereotype is simply a misunderstanding. As someone who adores her dog now, I feel like I understand both sides of the coin. Cats can be more standoffish, true--but I think to interpret this as unfriendliness is unfair to them. Cats are simply more introspective animals, especially compared to the blubbery blob that is the common dog. Sometimes I'd imagine, people might actually prefer that.
For example, there have been times when I wished I could just lie down with my dog and pet her for a couple of minutes. But usually, she's so hyper-active that she interprets my affection as wanting to play. As soon as I touch her, she instantly perks up and runs off to the tennis ball basket, leaving me on the floor and alone. I want to believe Alphie loves me, but whenever she does this, I'm forced to question her priorities.
But cats are often gentle, quiet companions. If you're just not feeling it one day, there's no need to fake it for your cat. It'll just sit there and purr happily as you stroke it while wolfing down a bag of potato chips. In fact, I think this quiet temperament is precisely what makes a cat's signs of affection so precious. A good dog will happily wag their tail at any stranger. But there's something very special about building a relationship with a shy cat until the first time it falls asleep on your lap.
Just to clarify again, I love dogs. But I think it's no coincidence that we use the term "puppy-love" to describe pure, yet perhaps idealistic affection. On the other hand, when I think of cats, I think of long-term, sacrificial commitment. Like real love. Like marriage.
(Sorry, that was just the first analogy that came to mind.)
On a closing note, cats are just really cute and fun to draw. Look at Pusheen. That thing is a work of art.
If you were a cat skeptic before reading this, I hope this post inspired you to give cats a chance. If you also love cats, I hope this post stirred some warm, happy feelings relating to your similar appreciation of felines. Though college has been fun, I still dream of the day I finally move out of the world of dormitories and into the wonderful realm of cat ownership. Until then, enjoy these pictures of me as a cat, and thank you for your understanding.
