As I have grown up and filled my plate above and beyond what it should be, I lost not only my attention span, but also one of my favorite hobbies.
College didn’t help and that hobby went out the window the second I stepped onto campus. I had essentially lost all free time and passion for doing it for my own purposes.
On Wednesday, I started it back up. It was like I couldn’t stop. I spent hours engulfed in it to the point I couldn’t put it down. Before I knew it, I was in too deep to stop.
I picked up a book to read (for my own pleasure) for the first time in four years.
Technically, I picked it up months ago and have been carrying in my bag hoping to get the motivation to start it at some point. I finally did.
I always loved reading ever since I was younger. I would read any and every book I had available. I started reading younger than most and read anything and everything I could get my hands on.
It really disappointed me when I got to college and I lost all desire to read because I was overloaded with reading assignments for books I had absolutely no interest in. It got to a point when I saw a reading assignment I dreaded it. I dreaded even picking up a book, even if it was not one for class.
Since graduation, I was advised to read as many books and articles as I could since I am a journalist and it could only help. I see columns and hear my co-workers talk about novels they have read. I hear about how many books they want to read in a year. It was tough when I hadn’t even picked up one in years, much less have the desire to pick one up.
But I did it. I have one. I started and I am not going back.
I learned that I do have a shorter attention span – I am not sure if it’s because I live in a very face-paced, social media-based world or because I always have so much going on that it is hard to focus on something for very long. It’s probably both. But I am re-training my brain to sit, relax and enjoy the company a book has to offer, even if my brain only allows me to do so for 15-minutes a day.
So, if anyone has recommendations of books to add to my list I would love to hear about them so I can work my way through at least more than one in the next four years.
