If I'm being truthful, there isn't such a thing as an "avid reader" in college. For those of you who think that college won't change your reading habits, you're drastically wrong. You'll fight it at first, but eventually you just have to give in.

Being an avid reader myself, I expected the same: I'd go to college, I'd do all my work, but then I'd read in my downtime. I have never been more wrong about anything in my life. I soon came to the realization that there is no such thing as downtime when it comes to college. That word is no longer in my vocabulary.

When I first made it to college as a freshman, I read two books of my own free will during the entire school year. The first was during our school's Welcome Week. I didn't feel well and chose not to go to one of the activities. Instead, I stayed in and finished a book I had previously started that same summer. The second book was during finals week of my second semester. It was nearly impossible to find the time to sit down and read something other than a textbook or assigned novel. I tried and tried and tried, but I was too busy to even pick up a book that I didn't need for class. But, that never stopped me from trying. I started countless novels. I would manage to get half way through before giving up, forgetting, or growing too busy.

This coming fall I will be a junior, and I'm here to tell you that burning desire to consume as many words as possible still eats at me every day. But, I am the kind of person to sit down with a book and read without ever glancing up at a clock. In college, that is not something you can do. I've missed classes and stayed up much too late at night with books only to find myself in a bind. However, I like to read as much as I can, but the only times I've found that to be possible during school is fall, winter, and summer breaks from classes.

During the school year, the only novels I have time to read anymore are the ones I'm assigned for the courses I'm in, and I barely have enough time for those as it is. Between assigned readings for textbooks and novels, papers and actual class, it seems as though time really does fly. However, I try my hardest to make time for things like shorter novellas and rereading books that are very special to me. And, most importantly, I still refuse to see a movie before reading the book; that's where I draw the line. Even though it's a small task, reading can sometimes feel like the hardest thing to do. But, I try not to let reading slip too far away from me. So, I stress to any incoming college freshman: don't let college take away from your reading. It's so difficult to make time for things like reading, but I promise that when you do read, it will be worth it. Even if it's the worst book in the world, it will seem like the best if only because the words aren't coming from the pages of a textbook.