For as long as I can remember, I’ve been what you might consider a bookworm. Usually, I’d read three or so books at a time for different moods or if I got tired of one and needed a refresher. When we would go on road trips or vacations, I remember really struggling to figure out which books to bring and how to limit myself to what would fit in one bag. At dinners with my parents’ friends, I would bring at least one book or, when it came about, my kindle so I could switch between a couple. In middle and high schools, I remember always having at least one book in my purse to read when we had free time or when I got bored in class (if I wasn’t working on homework so I wouldn’t have to take it home). Yes, I know I should have probably been paying more attention… but I can’t go back now. Sorry, mom.
When I got to college, I realized that I’d run in cycles. I’d go months without reading and then go through a bunch of books at once, never wanting to focus on anything else. One summer, I read four and a half of the Game of Thrones books… then when school started, I couldn’t get back into the series. Years later, I still never finished that book. The longer I was in college, the longer between reading sessions got. I would sit down to read and either fall asleep or be anxious that I wasn’t doing enough for school or home and have to put the books down. I don’t think I finished a book (other than assigned ones) in my whole last two years of school.
This only got worse when I got out in the “real” world. I would sit down to read and realize I was zoning out thinking about work that needed done or how I “should” be working on something at the house. I even tried my old trick of going on a walk with a small book just to get through a few chapters and realized halfway through that I wasn’t absorbing anything I was trying to read. I used to stay up half the night to finish my book trying to hide the light so I wouldn’t annoy my parents. My best friend and I would read so many books we would switch back and forth and still have to ask for more. How did I go from that to barely making it through a chapter?
As you can probably tell from other blog posts I’ve written, I’ve been trying to work on my weaknesses and anxieties. I feel like this is a mixture of both. Why would I rather zone out binge watching Criminal Minds than read one of my favorite books or dive into a new story? I have no clue yet. But I am going to force myself to confront it. My goal is on average a book a month this year. I’m a liiiiitttlllee behind, but I’m also reading 3 books right now to make up for it. Currently, I’m reading these:
- You are a Badass by Jen Sincero to get me motivated to work on all the goals I have for my company
- The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough because it was one of my favorites growing up and inspired my favorite tattoo (check out the quote at the beginning of this post!)
- North and South by John Jakes so that I can finally read the other two books in the series
I’ve been doing my best to take advantage of the sunshine when I have time off and spending some time outside reading, even if it’s only for an hour or so. I can’t wait for the day that I get consumed in a book again and don’t realize the sun is going down and time is flying by. What are your favorite books? What have you been reading lately? What are your goals? 😊 As always, if you take any fun pictures or videos, tag me on Instagram @SmileMakePeopleWonder and use the hashtag #DandelionSmiles. Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next exciting idea
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