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As dawn broke over my state of residence, my family and I were up and about, preparing for an eight-hour road trip to our hometown during the summer holiday. I was ten years old then. I was happy exams were over and we were on a long vacation.
There was so much excitement in the house the night before because we had never embarked on a road trip as a family. That was our first. We looked forward to all the fun of a leisurely road trip unlike the inconveniences of commercial road transport.
My siblings and I could not stop talking about all the beautiful sights and sceneries we would see on the way. I remember my Dad interrupted our conversation, "what sightseeing? Here take these novels. I bought them for you so no sightseeing for you, miss."
What? I couldn't believe my ears. I could see the pitiful looks on my siblings' faces. Why do I get to read all through the trip and the others don't? I guess it's because my Dad knew I loved reading and so he believed maybe I would enjoy the trip better with some books to read. Arrrgh!
The two paperback novels he bought for me are The Boy Slave by Kola Onadipe and Efuru by Flora Nwapa. They are now old and worn out somewhere.
Then he made the exercise rewarding by promising me some money if I finished one of the books before we arrived at our hometown and the other when we returned. That was all the encouragement I needed. But without the reward, I would have devoured the books!
Reading is one of my avocations and it has changed my life positively. The pages of a fascinating book are a form of relaxation and haven for me where I'd gladly bury my head, tune out the chaos around me and get lost in my world.
To me, books are a treasure. When I pick a book to read, the door to my imagination opens wide and I run around free and develop unique scenes as close as possible to the author's descriptions. I wish I was good at sketching, then I could put down some of these scenes on paper.
Ever since I developed an interest in reading, it became an interest that superseded all others. My Dad saw this and encouraged me as much as he could until I became an adult. In all the schools I attended, I became good friends with the librarians and made the library a place where I spent my lunch breaks.
I read The Boy Slave while we travelled to our hometown and Efuru on our journey back home. As you would guess, I finished both books and got my reward after our trip. Travelling is a form of education and I made sure not to miss out on the fine sights. Every time we got to a fine location or a popular landmark, my Dad would stop, tell us a bit of history, and we would look around before continuing the journey.
Reading has opened my mind to a lot of possibilities including writing on Hive. It makes writing easy. The more we read, the more we expand in knowledge.
And yes, I have earned with this avocation through my regular job and of course, Hive.
My family road trip was memorable because I filled my eyes with beautiful sceneries and my mind with lovely stories. That is the best way to vacation, in my opinion.
And since then, I have not stopped reading!
Thank you for reading. This is my entry to the Creative Nonfiction in The Ink Well: Prompt #8 inspired by the prompt, "Avocation".