My love for reading and how it has grown and shrunk over the years

There are very few hobbies that have stuck with me since I was a child. In fact, many of the “passions” that I have had throughout the years have been more so on the lines of extended hyperfixations than anything else. But one hobby that I have loved since I was seven years old has been reading. I remember the first-ever chapter book I read completely by myself was in first grade and it was a Magic Treehouse book. My teacher at the time handed it to me and said “I really think you would like this book." Needless to say, she was correct. It took me a while to finish it, but the feeling of accomplishment and joy I had when I did is something I will never forget. My mom had always read to me as a child but something about finishing a book on my own was completely different. The only way I can describe it was like an adrenalin rush that lasted for days.

Throughout the years, my mom would buy me books every other week and I would fly through them. Most kids got in trouble for sneaking their Nintendo DS under their pillow after bedtime while I would get in trouble for sneaking a flashlight and chapter book under the covers. There was actually a point where my dad had to hide all of the flashlights and batteries in the house because I would literally hoard them in my room.

The books I read during this time never really had a lasting impact on me. I would mostly just read them, finish them, then donate them to a library or give them to one of my friends. It wasn’t until 5th grade did I find a book series that I would love to this very day. Every year my elementary school would have a book swap where everyone would bring a gift-wrapped book in and swap it with someone else. When it was my turn, I went up and chose the book wrapped in puppy wrapping paper for obvious reasons. I unwrapped my book and the front cover of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was staring back at me. At the time Harry Potter was considered to be “nerdy” so when all of my friends laughed at me for getting a “bad book,” I told them all that I was going to read the whole series because I’m an Aries and stubborn. I quickly learned that that was one of the best decisions of my childhood life. I read the entire series as an 11-year-old in two months and have been a fan ever since. The book series had such a huge impact on my childhood and really shaped a lot of the person I have become today. I even have a matching Harry Potter tattoo with my mom on my wrist that I adore. I always believe that everything happens for a reason and I will always be so grateful that someone in the class chose to put that book in the book swap.

For the next three years, I would only read for fun. Anytime I had any bit of free time, there was always a book in my hand. I think I averaged about a book a week which for a 6th and 7th grader, I think is extremely impressive. Of course in middle school, reading usually isn’t the most popular pas time with everyone so for the most part, I was known as “the girl who reads a lot.” For the most part, people in middle school didn’t really care what I did for fun, however, there were always those occasional classmates who would have a snarky remark or just think it was stupid. But I didn’t let that tiny amount of people affect my love for books or reading and continued to do what I loved.

But like anything, if you overindulge in something, you’re going to hit a wall. And that’s what happened to me during my freshman year of high school. Entering a new place was stressful enough but the workload on top of sports was enough to keep me up until 9:00 p.m. doing homework. And after such a busy day, the last thing I wanted to do was crack open a book and read for fun. There were a few times where I tried to, but every time I did I couldn’t even get through one chapter and most books I started would get abandoned halfway through. I was so discouraged that it made me want to stop reading altogether. So I did. I went from reading a book a week to not reading at all. And this went on for two years.

It wasn’t until the summer going into my junior year of high school did I pick up a book again. School had just ended and I was working part-time but still felt like I was missing something. I would spend most of my time on my phone and I was becoming an unhealthy level of addicted to social media. So I decided to choose a random book on my bookshelf and tried reading again. I honestly don’t even remember which book I chose, all I remember is that I finished it. It took me the entire summer but I finished it and that was huge for me. I really thought that I had beat my reading slump for good and even bought a couple of books to read during the school year. But the minute classes started up, the exact same thing happened and I was pulled back into the slump I worked so hard to get out of.

This pattern continued right up until March of 2020. When the pandemic hit and everybody was quarantined, I was absolutely miserable. I was sent home from school with all of my classes being online and my teachers not knowing what to do. I had little to no work and spent the rest of my school year staring at a screen. My mental health started to really go downhill and I would wake up every day so sad at the state of the world. Social media also didn’t help because I would just be looking at the rise of COVID cases and become even more anxious. So badly I just wanted to escape the pandemic for just a few moments. So I decided to open a book for the first time since the summer and I'm so glad that I did. Every time I was reading I completely forgot about all of my worries and became so immersed in another world. I began to feel better about things and whenever I would get overwhelmed I would just pick up a book and it would calm me down almost instantly. I think in total from March-August I read a total of eight books which was a new record from the previous years. But I also wasn't flying through the books this time. I would take breaks and focus on digesting what I read rather than trying to shovel it into my mind. I actually found that I enjoyed it a lot more than when I was younger and would fly through a book which surprised me.

And then that brings me to the present day. I feel like I now have a very healthy relationship with reading where I don’t feel like I’m pressuring myself to finish a book in a week. I’ve come to terms that for me, reading has different “seasons.” In the summer I’m able to read more because I have a lot less on my plate whereas during the school year I move at a much slower pace due to my schoolwork. This summer I read a total of three books (all of which I loved) and I am currently (and slowly) reading a book during the school year. And if anyone is curious, my most current read is The People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry.

I know that I’m probably always going to go through reading slumps, but I am glad that I am finally able to enjoy the past-time again instead of thinking of it as a chore. Also if anyone ever needs any book recommendations, feel free to tweet me @spititout_blog!

I loved writing this blog! I feel like I never really talk about my love for reading and how much it has fluctuated but I know so many people have the same issue so I really wanted to touch on it. If you liked this one let me know!

Hope you all have a lovely week!

-Meg

P.S. Here's a photo of my Harry Potter tattoo! It's the three stars at the top of each book page!