As the holiday season fades away, one memory won’t disappear: after Christmas when the “2016 highlight” video came out from google. It featured positives from the year, but I felt disappointed. Before watching these videos I considered myself a news-junkie who constantly kept up with current events. Afterwards, I was angry with myself for only paying attention to what I had deemed the “big” news and drowning out “minor” news.

For me, big news is the headlining article that changes every morning. On the other hand, minor news was the articles that were interesting, but weren’t necessary to my knowledge of the world.

I understand that schedules get hectic and we don’t have time to read through all sections of the news. I also understand that it seems like certain information is pointless. However, if you only pay attention to major events, you’ll never become fully aware of what is going on in the world around you.

It may not seem like it, but paying attention to little details is important. It helps make you a well-rounded individual and it can also make a fun conversation starter. In awkward situations, it’s best to strike-up conversation, and what better way to do that than mention a CNN or Fox article you read about a new group of bees that scientists discovered.

Overall, I’m not saying to spend 15 hours of your day reading every article of every news outlet, nor am I saying to stop paying attention to major, time-sensitive news. My only wish is that after catching up on the headlining news, you take five minutes to read an article from a category you normally wouldn’t click on. This way, we learn something new and we’re able to alter our viewpoints, even if it’s in a minor way.