Ah, free time—that elusive occasion during which worry fades to the
back of one’s mind and the James Patterson novel on the coffee table or the dusty baseball hidden somewhere deep inside the coat closet seems to be the only thing of immediate consequence in one’s world. Seldom do we acknowledge, however, that how we spend our free time is a more fundamental reflection of our identities than countless hours spent in the professional, educational, and social realms. Indeed, every moment spent unconstrained by responsibilities to our jobs and our friends becomes an instance of pure self-expression. Perhaps that’s why we use the phrase “me time”—
because it tells us who we are and what we want.
