I love reading, but I don't do enough of it. Sure, I read for class, but by the time I'm done with that, I'm too burnt out to read for fun. Instead, I do things that require little to no brain activity, like watching Netflix or YouTube. I used to read for hours at a time and struggle to put a book down before bed. I miss the feeling of becoming attached to a character based solely on their personality rather than being influenced by their looks. I miss imagining what the settings looked like, pretending that I'm part of the story as well. Why is it so hard for me now to just relax and curl up with a good book?

Over the summer, before I left for study abroad, I had all the time in the world to read. And I did; I spent the summer rereading almost the entire "Harry Potter" series. I keep convincing myself that I don't have time to read when I'm dealing with school, but that is entirely untrue because I spend all of that ideal reading time watching Netflix. I definitely haven't run out of things to read either; I brought my Kindle Paperwhite, so my reading selection is virtually unlimited. Still, what's stopping me? I had just as many (if not more) distractions before I started college, so why have I gotten so lazy with my fun-reading?

The truth is, I really don't know. I have no real excuses. Perhaps reading feels more like a chore now that I have loads of reading assignments for class? Even so, reading for fun should be a refuge from academia. It should be both relaxing and stimulating, as opposed to just stimulating. I want to be able to relax with a book again like I did pre-college and during the summer. Why is it so hard? Why can't I just read ?

I still like to think that I love to read even though I don't do it as often as I used to. If I don't read for fun very often, does that make me a bad book lover? The answer is a resounding ... yes and no. If I love books so much, nothing should get in the way of my reading, right? But once I get into it again, it's like I never stopped and I never want to not read ever again. Even when I don't feel like reading, that doesn't mean I don't still love it. My love for reading is partly why I became an English major. I don't know what it would be like to not love reading. In fact, I'd much rather not feel like reading instead of hating to read. I want to read more, I really do, but I can't force it. Maybe I just need to find the right book to get back into the swing of things? There's one thing I know for sure: I really need to finish rereading 'Harry Potter'.