Boredom Banishment

I haven't been bored since Grade 3.

And I say that in all seriousness. I'll never forget my 3rd Grade teacher, Mrs. Edgecombe, telling us that "if you're bored, you're stupid." Her point was that if you're bored, you don't have enough imagination to come up with something to do. I can't remember anything else from Grade 3, but I do remember that. It has never left me. I remember telling Mom about my teacher's comment - she thought it was a bit harsh to say to a bunch of 8 year olds! Nonetheless, I should thank Mrs. Edgecombe because I don't believe I've uttered the words "I'm bored" ever since.

I've been reminded of my no-boredom rule these past few days. I see some people on Facebook with status updates that mention how bored they are with all the snow days. Cabin fever I can understand. Boredom - not at all. I just don't understand how it's possible to be bored when there are so many things to do, even when one is stuck inside. There are books to read, TV shows to catch up on, movies to watch, recipes to try, friends to re-connect with.... the list goes on and on. Maybe I say that because quiet time has never bothered me. I can always find something to do around the house. Even if I didn't have school work to catch up on (or get ahead of) and cover letters to write, I'd be working on my Chinese or reading. And if I was "bored", I'd relish it! Our MBA program is so demanding - why complain about some unexpected downtime?

Speaking of Chinese, that reminds me of another time when others complained about boredom that never came for me. When I arrived in China, I was told that the teaching schedule would be so light that I'd be left with a lot of time to fill. Guess what? I got a second job, started learning Chinese, travelled, blogged and read more for pleasure than I had in years. I don't believe in being bored. In fact, I'd feel embarrassed writing this as my Facebook status: "Amy is so bored!!" Everything about that is wrong.

Besides, it looks like the so-called "boredom" will end tomorrow. We usually don't have class on Friday, but our cohort has a make-up class in Macroeconomics (a make-up for the Monday holiday, not the snow day - yet). The break was nice while it lasted.