<p style=”margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; padding: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Georgia, ‘Times New Roman’, Times, serif; font-size: 12px;”>- I don’t believe that professional reading is an essential element of self-development. However, I think that reading of some capacity is important for mental stimulation and growth. I look at it as one way to exercise your brain. Just as your body can do push-ups and sit-ups, your brain can solve logic problems and read. There is no downside to reading. A leader who reads constantly is not necessarily better than one who does not. This comes back to the individual’s own performance but reading constantly doesn’t allow them to do much in the real world. What I mean by that is simply going out and trying new things and learning for yourself. I think a leader needs to have a healthy share of both as if they were eating a well balanced meal.</p>
<p style=”margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; padding: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: Georgia, ‘Times New Roman’, Times, serif; font-size: 12px;”>- Simply put, you make time to read. A full academic course, extracurricular activities, ROTC events, and personal time takes up the majority of a cadets life. This doesn’t mean it’s impossible to read. I set a decent amount of hours aside per week to spend time in a personal relationship and work a part-time job. Do I have to do either of these? No. Could I do without them? Yeah of course. However, this is my decision. I dabble in reading here and there when I can but it is definitely not a personal necessity right now. Over the summer was much different. I had umpteen hours with absolutely nothing to do so I could pick up a book and have it finished two days later. It all comes down to time management in my eyes.</p>