I, like so many others across the world, had their grand plans for 2020 completely shattered by the global pandemic caused by Covid-19. If you had asked me in January where I would be at the end of spring, I would have told you that I would be an arm’s length away from finishing my Postgraduate Degree in Journalism and Public Relations at Griffith College in Dublin, Ireland. I would be working part-time as a hotel receptionist while going to college during the week and enjoying the beautiful Irish sunshine at an outdoor pub on the weekends. I would definitely not have guessed that instead of all that, I would be back in Orlando, Florida living in my childhood bedroom and getting up at 6 AM every morning to attend class via Zoom. It has been a tough adjustment mentally so I have been searching for relaxing and happy ways to pass the time.
I have loved to read books for as long as I can remember and reading has always been one thing in my life that I could turn to when everything else was getting hard. There is so much information out there that lists reasons why reading is great for your mental health especially in difficult times like this. Naturally, I decided early on in this quarantine experience that I would read as many of my old favorite books as possible. I have always believed that my love of travel stemmed from my love of books. When I was young, I read books and imagined myself traveling to the faraway lands that were described even if they were made up places. A perfect example is the Harry Potter series. I know I am not alone when I say that as a child, I desperately wished that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a real place and I secretly waited for my Hogwarts letter the summer I turned eleven. Revisiting the Harry Potter series has been a nice and grounding experience during quarantine and I highly recommend anyone who feels like they need a little magic in their lives right now to also revisit it.
