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For most of my life, I treated boredom like something to avoid at all costs, convinced that being bored meant I was wasting time or missing out on something. If I felt even a hint of it, I would do everything I could to distract myself.

When I complained about being bored, my mom would always try to get me to think about it differently. She would send me article after article explaining how boredom is actually good for us as people, but I remained firm in my beliefs.

I never thought of boredom as something that could teach me anything, and I definitely didn’t think it was something I would ever appreciate. But the way boredom changed me during last year’s Thanksgiving break ended up completely shaping how I approached this year’s break, too, and downtime in general.

Being home for the first time since leaving for college meant that my routine had abruptly slowed down from its usual craziness. When I finished the few assignments I planned to do over break, I realized I had nothing left to distract myself.

I was the first of my friends to come home from college, and while I love spending time with my family, it can get old after a while. This left me with an uncomfortable stillness, stagnant for the first time in months.

I kept reaching for my phone out of habit, switching between different apps even though nothing new was circulating on them: It felt like my brain didn’t know what to do without a constant stream of stimulation.

But after a few days, something shifted. My boredom started to feel like an escape from the craziness of the first semester of college I didn’t know I needed so badly.

With my newfound enjoyment of boredom, I found new ways to fill my time. I went on walks around my neighborhood and paused to appreciate the little things like the new decorations my neighbors put up, and I sat in my living room and let my mind wander – things I never had time for in the past.

None of it was groundbreaking, but grounding myself reminded me that I don’t always need constant entertainment. Boredom actually made space for the things I enjoy doing but tend to sacrifice when life gets busy.

With all the usual noise gone, I finally had space to recognize and process feelings I would typically push aside. I thought about how chaotic my first semester had been, how much pressure I put on myself without noticing and how rarely I let myself slow down long enough to actually feel any of it.

By the end of break, I realized I felt more rested than I had in months – not just because I got to sleep in, but because boredom gave me room to breathe and appreciate my life more instead of rushing through it like we’re typically encouraged to.

For the first time, I understood what my mom meant: Boredom isn’t failure or a waste of time but an opportunity.

When Thanksgiving break rolled around this year, I noticed something different. I didn’t dread the slow pace of life or worry about being restless as I waited for my friends to come back home. Instead, I welcomed the idea of having nothing to do.

At first, it felt strange to look forward to the same quiet that I had dreaded for so much of my life, but I could tell I learned something from the year before.

Now boredom feels less like boredom to me and more like space to think, reset and be present in my own life without rushing from one thing to the next. My experience this year proved that my mindset shift wasn’t temporary. I now appreciate boredom: It taught me how to enjoy my life in a way I never did when constantly trying to fill every moment.

Boredom is a universal emotion that often goes overlooked, but it can really spark creativity and innovation, motivate people to try new things and prompt self-reflection.

Our society is so focused on productivity and finding new ways of making everyone and everything faster and more efficient, but if we collectively allowed for time to let ourselves be bored, we may find that boredom can actually encourage growth and positivity, which I believe the world could use a lot more of right now.

Emma Donohue is a sophomore studying political science and citizenship and civic engagement. She can be reached at efdonohu@syr.edu.

Published on December 1, 2025 at 7:57 pm