How to design a gentle curriculum when social media pressures us to maximize our self-improvement.

I’ve always been a school nerd. I’ve loved the feel of new blank notebooks and the smell of freshly sharpened pencils. I love the excitement of starting something new and working hard to perfect skills I didn’t know I could have. Since I’m an adult now, however, I’ve missed the feeling of the start of school and learning about new topics and have always secretly been yearning for an excuse to dive deep, research like a madwoman, and scribble down my thoughts like the fleeting whisps that they are. 

Cue the TikTok influencer trend of creating fall curricula. 

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Sure, these curricula seem interesting. They’re filled with reading lists and diverse topics (everything from political science to music theory), but I found many of them little more than glorified reading lists. 

There’s nothing wrong with a reading list. I have a whole stack of unread books on my TBR pile by the bed, but when it comes to designing curricula, we have to consider not only what we are consuming, but also how we might add to the conversation. 

For example, if I want to learn about feminism in American literature, I know I need to read the classics (The Bell Jar, A Room of One’s Own, Little Women, The Color Purple). There are also tons of articles written about the subject that I could read for context and analysis, but for a true curriculum to work, I need to be able to analyze and synthesize my own materials. There needs to be some level of output to show my level of understanding. 

As my “final exam,” I need to be able to show that I fully grasp concepts of my topic, understand the context of my topic, and also have something original to contribute to the conversation. Here are a few ways I could show competency: 

Article: Articles are typically informative pieces that are objective and based on facts. Their purpose is to break down complex topics in order to “teach” something new. This could be done in written form or through long-form video or social media posts to inform a selected audience. Critical Essay: Essays are academic works that present an argument or analysis, using evidence to support their claims. Again, this can be written as an essay or turned into a long-form video or social media posts to persuade a particular audience. Original Written Work: Creative writing is also a legitimate way to show understanding of a particular concept while building upon the ideas and traditions of their predecessors. A poem or short story inspired by the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison could highlight various ways our society still upholds harmful ideologies. Other Creative Media: Creative works don’t have to stop at writing. They can expand to art, film, acting, photography, and other forms! 

To effectively plan my fall curricula, I started with my output first. I knew I wanted to start writing articles again, so I planned a reading list and smaller assignments (such as reflections and check-ins) to help guide me along the way. And yet, I still felt overwhelmed. Wasn’t I consuming enough media? Wasn’t my TBR a frightening height already? How could I fit more into this framework? 

That’s when I decided to try a gentle curriculum. 

I knew I was consistently reading things that I liked. I read a new book every week or two and read several articles a day, so why didn’t I just use what I was already consuming to make personal connections, practice synthesizing the information, and write engaging articles about how these topics affect us every day? 

So, this is my call to you, dear reader. You’re doing enough. You’re reading enough. You’re achieving enough. Your life is maximized beyond what anyone has asked for, and if you’re looking to have a “productive” fall, let go of the pressure to design a whole curriculum filled with books that will guilt you until you read them and suggest that you’re a failure if you don’t get around to it. Instead, pause to take a minute to connect with the things that already exist naturally: the sunset after a long day, the conversation you have with a friend over dinner, the rant your partner gives after watching the season finale of Severance. These are the moments that should pack your “reading list,” and they are the ones we should document like our lives depend on it… because they do. These small things are the ones that really matter. They are the essence that makes us human. They are the things that always make us feel a little less alone.

Article originally posted on Substack.