Required Reading: An Excuse to Explore

This is for the reading assignments and the class discussions that follow.  Here’s to our BIC reading.

I know I may have just lost you all.  What? We’re going to miss our mountains of assigned reading?

Ok.  It may be hard to appreciate the literature when you find yourself reading Monkey in the library at 3 a.m.  Maybe you will not miss all of it.  But can you really tell me that you have not been grateful for a single reading?

Think about the essence of assigned reading.  People who care about the engagement of your mind took the time to create a list of novels and articles which they think will benefit you.  Some you will enjoy reading, and others benefit you in some other way.

Still not following?  I do not blame you.  Had I been talking to myself two years ago, I would have the same reaction.  But one day, you are going to miss this.

Here I am sitting in Capstone, and I cannot help but be grateful for the class which makes me read books and articles that I enjoy, pieces of literature that make me think in ways I do not expect.

Not only do our beloved BIC professors present us with a list of reading which will benefit us, they provide the space for our minds to digest that material, and even lead that process in our classes.

We are approaching midterms, and many of you may not be at a place where you can hear what I am saying, but I will ask that you store it away for another day because one day this will make sense.

My time in the BIC is coming to an end.  Gone will be the days that I simply show up to a classroom at the right time and get handed a reading list which a trusted guide has selected to lead us on a journey into new perspectives and new ideas.  I will no longer automatically find myself surrounded by peers who have read the same material I have and share the desire (or willingness) to explore it.

Our time in the BIC is unique.  Where else would we find a community dedicated to understanding new perspectives and engaging different cultures together?  While we cannot stay in the BIC forever, we can take our experiences with us.

Long after our time in the physical community of the BIC is over, we can carry the spirit of academic exploration and openness with us, wherever we may find ourselves.  After graduating from Baylor, this particular community of professors and colleagues will not surround us on a daily basis, but this does not mean that we must learn in solitude.  Soon, it will be up to us to continue our education, to create our own reading lists and find peers willing to dive into them with us.

But right now, we have the BIC.  We have impactful readings built into our day-to-day lives and communities that are encouraged to congregate and discuss those readings.  This is a gift, friends.  Let’s enjoy it.

Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics.