Because words have always been my home

Annie Mpinganzima
3 hours ago
2 min read

A dear friend of mine recently told me that she likes what I read and that she enjoys when I share it. She was responding to the snapshots of articles I often post on my Instagram stories.

When I said “thank you,” she kept the conversation going and asked, “But why do you read?”

That question caught me off guard. For as long as she’s known me, I’ve been reading and talking about the joys of it. People usually ask what I’m reading, how I find the time, or what I think of a particular book. But why? That one was new.

I didn’t know what to say, so I simply replied, “For joy.”

But that answer stayed with me, because, truthfully, it wasn’t the whole story. I said it because I didn’t know how to explain that I read different things for different reasons.

I read economics and business stories. I read biographies. I read fashion magazines and homemaking magazines — especially the sections about cooking. I read young adult fiction. I read about politics and the wars it fuels. I read the Bible at 3 a.m. I read books, blogs, articles, people, and everything in between.

It’s a long answer to a short question. And maybe I didn’t lie completely, because all of this does bring me joy.

I like knowing something about anything. I like knowing that I’m not alone in any situation. I like having an idea of what it feels like to be somewhere I’ve never been, or to live a life I’ll never live.

And for that, I read and I read a lot.

When I was younger, reading was an escape. But as I grew up, it became a tool, a mechanism, a friend. As the old saying goes, sharing is caring, and that’s why I share what I read. It’s the reason I started this blog, and why I exist online at all.

Because reading has healed me. It has helped me move from one place to another — sometimes literally, sometimes emotionally. It has comforted me, lifted me, and made me feel understood.

And I believe, in some way, you might need that too.

So here I am, still reading, still sharing. Grateful to the writers around the world who make it possible for me to live a thousand lives in one body. It’s how I find my way through this one.

‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.