Reading Is the Ultimate Hobby for Connecting With Yourself

Written By : Jacqueline Rappa

When I write, I’ll admit, it’s so easy to fall into distractions: picking up my phone between paragraphs, checking an email, suddenly remembering something “urgent.” When I'm styling outfits for the work week, I usually have a podcast playing. When I'm making my morning coffee and breakfast, again, there’s a podcast, or music, or a YouTube video going.

But when I read, it's silent. No digital noise. No interruptions. If there are, I lose the meaning of the words. I know some people can listen to music while reading or have the TV playing in the background, but I’m not one of them. Reading fully immerses me in another world, especially fiction, where I become intertwined in the story. I just finished Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach, and I truly couldn't put the novel down. I love that feeling of being so deeply invested in something, with nothing pulling me away.

Reading makes me feel connected to my inner self because it inspires my own writing, influences my day-to-day life, and reminds me that I’m capable of dedicating myself to a hobby fully. It’s refreshing to feel distractions fall away, even for a moment, in the middle of our busy lives.