Bland At Barkly Square

Volume 20, Issue 2

Dear Bland at Barkly Square,

The optimism of this cohort never fails to exhaust me. I’m not sure how your semester is shaping up, but personally I’m planning to carve out some time each week for fun pastimes like “showering” and d“getting dressed”. However, if you are feeling slightly more ambitious, I have you covered. 

A hobby is a low threshold – it merely needs to be off the clock and fun for fun’s sake. However, some people still struggle with this concept, trying to wrap up their free time in self-improvement. Not to turn this into an anti-hustle culture rant during clerkship season (the hypocrisy would be too much, even for me), but it’s worth having something you’d do no matter who was watching. However, if you want to pretend running marathons and helping the elderly is how you unwind, more power to you. 

Now I know what you’re thinking, “I’m a law student, I am but a vessel for dicter – no thoughts, head empty.” While that may be true, somewhere deep in there is someone that is interesting to talk to at parties. A good way to unleash them is to think about what you do when you procrastinate (besides that).

If you’re anything like me, most free time is spent consuming content which is not much of a hobby. However, if you put your psychoanalysis cap on you may find there’s more going on than meets the eye. Are there any common threads in the content you’re taking in? Are you watching a lot of historical fashion YouYube videos? Maybe time to look into upcycling or knitting. Loving nature docs on Netflix? Maybe time to go out on some local walks in your area. Binging on travel vlogs? Maybe you want to up your language skills on Duolingo. Whatever it is, don’t try and pick up something that you think you should be interested in, like intellectual podcasts or yoga. Despite appearances, you already have a personality ready and waiting to be explored – no need to borrow anyone else’s.


Somewhat sincerely,
​
Your Learned Friend