Day 9 Journaling Challenge

First of all, I would like to apologize for the delay of this entry. I was so beat yesterday that I fell asleep as soon as I posted the announcement.

Anyway, on to the second-to-the-last entry. Woohoo! This one will be short and of course, I can't end this journaling challenge without talking about my favorite companion - books!

Yep, that was me on the reflection of my shades.

By now, everyone who read my journal entry day 3 knew that I am an expert aloner ('cause loner means lonely, and I am not!) I cannot deny my love for quiet walks around my neighborhood with only my thoughts as company. I especially adore spending time learning a new song on my Ukulele on my day offs or drinking a cup of tea on a cold evening with Netflix on  (by the way, I'm loving this series called Anne with an E). I also love just lying on my bed in the warm embrace of my blankets with a book propped on my knees and reading until my eyes could take no more.

By the way, I also love watching movies alone in the cinema. I used to do that when I was in the Philippines, I cannot do it here now though. It's just way too expensive! It's 2500Yen or around 1200pesos for you information.

Recently, with 70% of my time spent being with myself, books have saved me from the awkward and pitying glances of people in restaurants. Books have also saved me when I have to go to a salon to get a haircut or when I have to do a 3-hour wait at the airport for my connecting flight and feel like talking to no one.

Books have saved me from looking like a fool in public for daring to dine alone in a quaint coffee shop. Books have saved my mind from wandering too far off. 

Books are my best friend, my teacher and a map to another world that awaits my soul hungry for wanderlust.

As far and as long as I can remember, the smell of the paper and the feel of the spine of a book on my hands stirs up my soul. I could spend all day in a bookstore and go bankrupt from buying mountain of books that I would probably read in one day or never read at all. I could stay up all night and get lost in another world created by another person's words and thoughts. I could dream about the characters I met and wonder what they're going to do next and picture myself in their situation and wonder what I would do if I am faced with the same tribulations.

Books are one of humanity's greatest creations. It has saved my life and lead me to find my passion. It has taught me to go beyond my imagination, step out of the comforts of my safety net and dare myself to put my thoughts on paper. It showed me the infectious joy of finding connection from another person who read the same book and talk about it for hours on end.

Books are pools of wisdom. Books are a result of a writer's blood, sweat and tears and hours of editing and rewriting. Books are life changers.

If you are in need of comfort and a hand to hold, grab a book you loved and go back to its pages. You will surely find solace in its familiar words (My go-to book is The Fault in Our Stars. A good ugly cry always helps!).

P.S. This book is an ode to my fellow bookworms, and to my mom who taught me the joys of reading :)