A child’s favorite two words to say are “I’m bored,” and I wish that when I said it I knew how much I was missing. There is so much overlooked potential in boredom, and after four exhausting years of high school, I wish I could have had more time to say that I was bored.

Even though boredom has such a bad reputation, I don’t think it should be viewed so negatively. To me, at this point in my life, being bored is something with potential. With college and finals looming over my head, I would love to enjoy a little bit of boredom.

Truly, as we get older, boredom fades further and further from our minds. The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve had to fill my life. This full life wasn’t a bad thing, as I joined more activities, made more friends, got a job, and generally just had less time to myself.

And even though a lot of the things that filled my life were joyful, a lot of stress filled the void of boredom, too. As my life got busier, I longed for time to relax and to be, for just a few seconds, what I used to call “bored.”

Being bored can mean that you have free time, and I wished all throughout high school to have more of this precious time. My alone time dwindled, and with this, whether related or not, my mental health suffered, too.

As a society, we do not spend enough time with ourselves. We constantly need something to occupy us, hence the heavy use of smartphones. With this comes the infamous shortening of attention span, and as an overstimulated society, boredom would probably be a little beneficial to us all. 

From this different standpoint, boredom isn’t actually boring at all, because there is so much that can possibly be done. Instead of seeing it as something that wastes my time, I now see it as an opportunity to find something that will be fun and enriching to my life and health.

With graduation approaching, I know that this summer I might have lots of time to be bored, and I won’t see it in that same way I did as a child.  I won’t hate boredom because I know that it won’t last.  In fact, when I’m bored, that means I have some time to do whatever it is I want. 

In a traditional sense, I’m glad that I haven’t been bored the past four years, but when I think about it differently, boredom can be a form of relaxation. With boredom there is no stress, overthinking, or anxiety that can potentially come along with a lot of other things in life. Instead, you have time to find something you want to do, anything you want.

That said, I’m sure that in the coming months I’ll miss my hectic schedule, since that’s what I’ve been accustomed to. Knowing that high school is over and I’ll never deal with quite the same routine again will be strange.

When I’m bored this summer, I hope that I’ll eventually find something that I can spend my time with in a new enjoyable way.  Though it may seem strange, having such a clear head and free schedule to be “bored” is undeniably appealing to a fourth-nine-weeks senior.