Speak & Tell: Boredom is Good

This is the text of the speech Max presented at the closing ceremony for the "Speak & Tell!" Camp on July 8, 2016.

By Max Rosen

I think boredom is pretty cool.

When you are bored your brain tries to find things to fill that mental gap. It boosts your creativity and causes you to think outside the box.

I get bored very easily, and this actually led to me discovering many of my hobbies and interests. One of these is poetry, which has become very important in my life, especially this past year as I made it the focus of my long-term project. I discovered poetry during an English class where we had to write a structured essay, and I wasn't finding it very interesting. I grew bored and my mind wandered to how I would write about the topic if it wasn’t structured. So I began writing poems and it has become a big form of expression for me since then.

Everybody gets bored at some point in the day, whether it's at school, or a meeting or even during this speech.

And these moments are very important.

What do you think about when you’re bored?

Generally, you think about what could happen or what or what could be accomplished. You don’t usually think about what has happened in the past or how you could have done it differently. I find this very interesting and think it’s just another reason why boredom is so great. It makes you think about the future and problems you can solve. It raises questions that may not be answered yet and makes you wonder what those answers might be. Boredom causes a creative impulse that drives us forward as people. This creativity allows for humanity to continue to break down its barriers.

So I ask you, what are those questions? And can you answer them?

Thank you

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Max Rosen, 15, is a rising sophomore at Taylor Allderdice High School.