The Girl with the Red Backpack had gone on an unexpected and extended hiatus since August 2021. It had not been my intention, but it was a much needed one.
Originally, I started this blog to share travel tips and locations with photos and stories–a diary with some photojournalistic work here and there. But when the world went into lockdown in 2020, the only travel that happened for me was either to New York City on the very rare occasions when we could safely get out, or through books. So I pivoted GRB to focus on books and the stories I’ve read during the lockdowns in hopes that others would find books that they too would love to read themselves, or if they were wondering whether or not they were books they would be interested in.
Reading for me is a chance to engross myself in someone else’s webs of imaginations, a way to let the world and the worries fall away, a way to decompress from my 9-5 and my business, and most importantly a way to learn something new as I build my business. But the problem is I sometimes read way too much too quickly, not pacing myself, and burn out with reading. It worsens when there’s a lot to do and a lot of places to explore.
That’s exactly what happened in July when I read my last book (which I posted about in August). I had enough of reading and things were opening up, summer was in full swing with the warm weather, and I just wanted to be outdoors. So I stopped reading, and would not pick up another book for two months again. I read it, grew tired of reading–not having healed yet from reading burnout and also not finding any stories to captivate me throughout those months–so I stopped reading again.
I did ultimately read a couple of books that fall and winter, but not at a pace as before.
With the start of 2022, I’ve become more intentional with my time and leaning into finding a balance that works best for me between the many things that I have going on. And as such, I’ve also become more intentional with reading by choosing books that I’m interested in, and then pivoting when I see myself losing interest with a specific genre, while at the same pacing myself with how much I read per day.
So here’s to a new year, with new books to share and a bigger variety of them, as well as potentially new things coming down the pipeline. In the meantime, what is something that you would love to see me cover or do this year?
The Girl with The Red Backpack 