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Thanks, COVID




Dear COVID,


Don't read this letter as a sign of friendship, because I still hate you. However, I feel the urge to thank you for one thing – reading. Without you, I would have never imagined myself reading books during my free time.


You may ask yourself, "what did I do"? Well, let me tell you. It all started when I came home from college in March of 2020. You were still relatively unknown to me. I still had class, but I realized I had a lot more free time. In this free time, I did what I would typically do: eat, nap, or watch a movie. It was perfect.


At least, it was perfect until classes ended. Once classes ended, you really started turning my life into a nightmare. I could not leave the house, nor see my friends. And, to top it all, there was nothing productive I could do.


I tried enjoying this time by sleeping long hours, eating, playing with my cats, and watching t.v. However, I always felt this emptiness in me, as if there were a hole that needed to be filled. But with what?


That's when I decided to re-open a book that used to bring me so much joy, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." And, before I knew it, I finished the whole series. Not only, but I realized that my hole was finally filling up. I finally had something to look forward to in the morning and to count on to tuck me into bed that evening. It was just as magical as Hogwarts.


The question now is, why reading? I am not sure why I chose reading. I guess it was the last resort. But, I can tell you why I will not see myself stopping anytime soon. Reading distracts me from the world around me. Reading allows me to transport myself into my own world and gives me the control to imagine how I want the world to be. While in movies everything is imagined for you, with books, you are the director.


Thanks to you, COVID, I felt that I lost control of my whole life. But, don't worry. I found a loophole. I found reading. You may control what goes on around me. But you will never control which book I read and what I imagine in my mind.


Best wishes,

Francesca


P.S. I hope you leave soon!

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