Every time I am asked to choose what I do in my spare time on a Buzzfeed quiz, I find myself stuck. I like theatre, but that isn’t really something that I can pick up and put down when I want to. I like to read, but I barely have time for even class readings. As a UofT student facing the pressure to perform well, most of my spare time is spent trying to be productive; working hard rather than playing at all. In an attempt to discover how I play, I decided to ask other members of the Victoria College community the same question. How do we amuse ourselves or spend our time in recreation, if any time at all is dedicated to such fun? I need to find out what I do to play, or I will never find out what hit song from 2012 I am.
When I questioned my respondents, I was curious to know how exactly they defined “play”. Is it spontaneous, pre-planned, or something simply in opposition to work? I asked three people how they play, using the definition from Dictionary.com which defines play as “an exercise or activity for amusement or recreation; fun or jest, as opposed to seriousness; to conduct oneself or act in a specified way; to amuse oneself.” Here is how they play.
ALYSSA MARCHAND (FIRST YEAR):
Okay, so, for playing: to be doing the exact opposite of what we do in school. I try to do something where I don’t have to think, at all. One of the things I want to do over reading week is to go sledding. We bought crazy carpets at a dollar store to go sledding on one of the hills in a park, or by Robarts. If it snows, we’ll build snowmen, maybe? Also, swimming. I feel like when I swim, I don’t have to think about anything else. I can just like, drown all my thoughts out; which is nice, to not be thinking about a thousand things. In the common room we play board games, like Tapple, and even though it gets really intense and we argue, we’re arguing about the most idiotic things, and it’s not related to anything I’m doing in class. I use play to take a break from work or school, and to not think about the things I have to think about in that environment.
MARIE SONG (FOURTH YEAR):
On the one hand, it feels like play is kind of just, stuff that’s not school, because school is work and so everything else gets to be play. I’ll kind of redefine play. I feel like in play you do this thing where you’re having fun and you’re goofing off but it’s also a chance to explore stuff and learn stuff, so in a way, play becomes the time when you’re really like testing the limits of yourself and your world. Work is when you put what you’ve learned during play into practice. So, the fun goofs that you do in class, that’s play. You can test the limits of your knowledge so that when you do the actual assignment, you’re taking
all of this new stuff that you’ve learned about yourself and about whatever subject and like, doing shit for real. There’s like goofin’ off and chillin’, like watching Netflix or something like that, but I don’t think that that’s how I play, you know. Like I don’t feel like I’m really learning or exploring anything or like, really testing anything. Play is stuff you do where you can make mistakes. Play is really something that’s active, and not passive. That’s play, baby. Just building and exploring.
SHAINIYA BALACHANDRAN (DEAN’S OFFICE):
I try to incorporate [play] into things in my everyday life. Because it’s fun to play, and it’s fun to remind yourself that it’s okay to play. So, I go to a high energy yoga class, which is not what people usually think of when they think of yoga. It’s called electric yoga! There’s a lot of fun music playing, and the instructor gets you to do things like dress up for Halloween, and she often likes to connect with people and chat throughout the class; sometimes asks them how they’re doing, or what they’ve been up to. It’s nice that it’s both a wellness time where I can go and get a solid workout in and feel good about the physical break that my body got, but I also feel like I had a lot of fun. And I also think that’s just the approach I take to any physical workout that I do. If I ever go for a run, where it’s sort of like—and this might be a dated reference now–– but Phoebe in Friends, where she’s going for a run and just having a good time. It’s something where I can go and have fun and leave, and I feel good when I walk away from it. And then I think there also can be play at work. Like, I don’t think that work and play have to be so separate. I’m lucky to have a job that I love, working with students that I love to work with; working with students can be fun.
I began my interviews with the idea that at UofT, the expression “work hard, play hard” doesn’t actually include “play.” The answers above may represent a small data pool, but their large range speaks to the limitless quality of the definition of “play.” We play when we are with friends, when we do fun activities, and even while we are working or studying. Play cannot be limited to a single medium, despite the categories on Buzzfeed quizzes. As I reflect on these interviews, I am hopeful that I will be able to find amusement in any activity I pursue. And I find myself with a firmer resolve to work hard but play harder.
These interviews have been edited for clarity and length.
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