You Have to Start Reading Again

Yes, especially if you were one of those kids who used to get through multiple high-school-level books in a week during middle school. 

Growing up, I prided myself on being quite the reader. I visited the library and came out with stacks of books that I would easily finish within days. At the time young adult dystopian novels were extremely popular. I would read books like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner throughout my elementary and middle school years. At the same time, however, I managed to squeeze in some young adult romance fiction novels–such as Fangirl and the famous The Fault in Our Stars. 

However, my reading hobby came to an end once I entered high school. With high school came more work and less time for my hobbies. Before I could realize it, I could barely get through a small novel I was assigned for my sophomore English class. It made me wonder what had changed in that time that led to my gradual lack of interest in reading as a hobby. Was it the fact that I had gotten my own phone, and I was exposed to the world of social media? Or was it the laziness and stress that came with high school? 

I didn’t know the reasoning behind it all, but all I knew was that I wanted to read again. However, I couldn’t even pick up a medium-sized novel without getting bored and setting it down, leaving it never to be touched again. 

But shortly after I graduated from high school, I decided to try reading again–this time, with a small novel. This novel was The Alchemist which was around 170 pages long. I was able to finish this book within two weeks. In those two weeks, I tried reading for at least fifteen minutes a day. 

Through this, I was finally able to finish a book that wasn’t assigned to me through a class after so long–and I had enjoyed it. It made me rediscover my love for reading, albeit weaker than before. Most importantly, it made me want to read more. So I picked up more books that were around the same page length as The Alchemist, and slowly built myself up to reading books that were lengthier such as Gone Girl, which was around 560 pages long. 

Reading from an actual book was a nice contrast compared to the technology-oriented reality that we currently live in. Growing up, I was unaware of how much social media would take over my life that it would lead to me losing one of my favorite hobbies. But, slowly and steadily, I was able to regain this hobby and I’m more than glad that I did. 

So to those who were once in the same situation as I was, I wholeheartedly encourage you to start reading again. Not only will it help you rediscover your love for reading, but it’ll also give you a much-needed break from scrolling through your Twitter timeline and TikTok feed.

• books
• fiction
• reading