By: Lena Jennings
For many of my friends, I ask them when the last time was that they read and most of the time the response is “english class in high school, but even then I never really read the books.” So as we approach the end of our college careers, sadly enough for many the last time a book was read was nearly 4 years ago. As Dr. Seuss once cleverly said in his book I Can Read with my Eyes Shut: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” This quote reigns true today and one of the surest way to be an informed professional is to read. Reading is a sure way to expand the mind and become a constant learner long after college!
Daily Information Feed
YouVersion Bible App. Every morning I get a push notification of the verse of the day that allows me to begin my day with gratitude, positivity, and love. I rely frequently on my Bible app because it allows me to have daily reminders about what’s really important in life. Through reading the books of the BIble I have become more emotionally intelligent with myself and with others because of the perspective it teaches.
New York Times, Morning Briefing. Once I get my spiritual message for the day I go on to get information on current events happening around the world. I signed up for a daily email giving me a morning briefing on various political and lifestyle topics.
Freakonomics Radio. Freakonomics is a popular podcast that discusses socioeconomic issues that Americans deal with in a manner that makes you think like a “freak.” This podcast will turn you into a critical thinker that questions almost everything.
Discovery Channel. Reality TV is my guilty pleasure but the interesting stuff is the educational shows that teach you something oddly enough. A household favorite is the show Naked and Afraid where contestants live off of the land for 21 days. In watching the show I realize that if I were to ever end up in the forest in a foreign land I would have some chance at survival because of this show. The practical skills learned but also the grit that is developed on this show teaches an important lesson on essential values.
Facebook. Running the risk of “fake news” I use my Facebook feed to learn more about the world we live in. From various shares on my timeline and posts by friends I am able to gauge a sample of the population and how they feel about certain topics. Facebook is my guilty pleasure but it really does keep me up to date on new recipes, hot topic issues that matter to my community, exposure to new ideas and perspective. But be careful, it’s easy to get sucked into the black hole of Facebook and before you know it you’ve spend 30 minutes just scrolling.
Hopefully through these daily information feed recommendations, my hope is that one can learn how to learn in different ways from different outlets. Growing up my day always told me that “readers are leaders” and because of that I loved to read – for good reason. We all want to be leaders in some capacity so read daily, whether it be a 140 character tweet or a novel, and allow yourself to be a constant learner and leader.