My first tattoo was of a book —simple, with a bit of the world inside escaping from the pages. Stories help me escape. Books have shaped me into the person I am today. That being said, I cannot even remember the last time I had the time to sit down and crack open a book.
As a social work student at Simmons, I have taken courses that require heavy reading, whether that be theories, journals or case studies. They are often long and written in an academic style that makes my brain hurt. While I would love to unwind at the end of a long day with a book, I find myself wanting to do anything but read words on a page or a screen.
Over the past two years, I began to miss the feeling I got when I finished a five-star read and my to-be-read list just kept growing.
It took me until my senior year of college to discover the magic of audiobooks.
I always shied away from the idea of listening to books instead of reading them. Not only can they be expensive and sometimes difficult to find, but I never saw the appeal of laying in my bed with my eyes closed while someone reads me a book.
This changed when one of my roommates came across Libby, an app that allows people to access audiobooks through their libraries. I watched her find the same love for reading I found years ago, and I realized how much I missed that feeling.
So, I got myself a Boston Public Library card (available to all Simmons students) and signed up for Libby. The entire library was right at my fingertips, any book I could think of was available to borrow or place a hold on and it was completely free.
For the past few weeks, I have listened to an audiobook every chance I get. I now look forward to my walk to class and my internship because it means I get to dive back into the world of whatever book I am reading. Even doing chores like cleaning my room isn’t as daunting when I can multitask and listen to a sappy love story or thrilling fantasy novel. Not to mention, audiobooks are a great way to mask the high-pitched screeches of the beloved MBTA.
Audiobooks have not only allowed me to rediscover my love of storytelling, but they have also allowed me to find joy in spending time alone again. I now enjoy going grocery shopping alone or going out to eat by myself because I look forward to immersing myself in a fictional world.
I hope one day I have the motivation to pick up a physical book, but while I finish up my studies and continue to read dense academic literature, audiobooks will continue to be my escape.
