This spring break, I discovered something about myself that honestly feels like it should’ve been obvious: I am two completely different people depending on what I’m reading and where I’m reading it.
On the plane, I was that Kindle girl. It is so perfect for travel because it’s light, fits in any bag, and it makes me feel like I have my entire library with me at 30,000 feet in the air. Plus, there’s something about tapping the screen to turn the page that makes me feel like I’m super productive, even though I’m just trying to distract myself from turbulence.
But the second I got to the beach? A whole different vibe. Suddenly I’m a paperback girl again with the sun-warmed pages, a little sand stuck in the spine, and the occasional sunscreen fingerprint smudged across the cover. A paper on the beach just hits like no other. It’s messy and nostalgic, and feels like the most low-stakes, high-comfort activity in the world. You can’t beat the feeling of flipping a real page with your actual hand as the sound of the ocean waves crash in the background.
The Kindle is for efficiency. The paperback is for the romance vibe. The Kindle is for travel days when you’re juggling boarding passes and headphones. The paperback is for slow days when the only thing on your agenda is reapplying sunscreen and deciding whether to read one more chapter or close your eyes.
So yes, I packed both. And honestly? I regret nothing. A vacation requires multiple reading personalities. It’s about balance and options.
If anything, spring break taught me that I don’t have to choose between the two. I can be both :) And maybe that’s the real vacation mindset – letting yourself be all of your favorite versions at once.