As you can guess, this post comes from a bookworm or someone who used to be a bookworm as a kid. I still read books and I still appreciate the stillness I find so soothing when reading a book. It is one of these activities that do not require technology at all unless you're using a Kindle.
I was a bookworm when I was a child and it continued until my teens. The comfort and most importantly the need to escape from my loneliness I felt as a teenager when going to school were perfect excuses to get lost in worlds, stories and adventures. I simply enjoyed reading fiction and I needed to create this sanctuary, this refuge in my own home through characters that I could relate to. Yes, I read the whole Harry Potter series and I devoured Twilight as well to the point that I started dreaming about Bella and Edward in my dreams. Their apperances were worrisome and so I had to let go of Meyer's constructs, which was the same for other books. I had to let go. Accepting that I had to return to the real world, the world of maths, teachers, classmates, tests and other commitments.
But my summer was a period where I could read whatever I want and whenever I wanted. It made who I am today. Despite many travels and adventures in my twenties, I am the happiest when I read which can range from books, magazines, articles, essays or cooking books. Because I'm someone who gets bored very quickly, I always carry a book or magazine with me. Just in case I have to wait for a long time for the bus, deal with rumination or keep my mind busy in a constructive way, it helps if I can hold on to something. Learning new things is what I enjoy.
Because I'm often on the go, I learn and study a lot on trains and planes. Whenever a big trip is coming up, I have plenty of material to catch up. For instance, this year I had to travel a lot between Glasgow and London during spring. I was knackered, I confess. But it was fun as well. Doing a module at the Faculty of Astrological Studies in London allowed me to learn in a classrrom with other people and a tutor just within three months. So you could find me with lot of astrology books in the suitcase! The AvantiExpress train took me straight to London in five hours, which was perfect for getting a lot of reading and studying done!
Some books helped me immensely during difficult periods of my life and therefore I'm grateful for writers in general. I was raised in a country where you had to respect politics and acknowledge the work of politicians and leaders, yet many of them I met in real life seemed to always disappoint me despite their huge efforts. It is through art and writing, I was able to overcome dark periods in my life. Therefore, I admire writers and artists more because I feel that they are the true heroes in the world and contribute to our society so much that is unimaginable .
Without Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre', Charles Dicken's 'Christmas Carol', Bernard Shaw's 'Pygmalion', Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest' Virginia Woolfe's 'A Room Of One's Own', Hermann Hesse's 'Demian', Rhonda Byrne's 'The Secret,' Deborah Harkness's 'The Shadow of Night', Holy Bourne's, 'The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting' and many more, my inner life would be smaller, not nourished at all and I wouldn't be able to look back. Because reading is more than making meaning, it connects us and can lead to healing eventually.
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