Forgotten Hobbies: Why Now is the Time to Bring them Back

Dear friends,

Let me tell you a story.

When I was little I loved to draw. I had a giant pink how-to-draw book that I took with me everywhere. I drew all sorts of things and even though I didn’t consider myself an artistic prodigy, I loved it. Flash forward to me in college. I love to write and I love to read. Sometimes I’ll watch Netflix or go on a hike. But outside of that I don’t do a whole lot of other hobby-like activities.

With the current pandemic however, I (and all of us) have been at home much more and have had much more time on my hands. My mom is an artist. She loves to draw and she’s good at it. So today we were in the living room and she was drawing and I was on Pinterest. But she looked so happy over there with her pen and paper that I figured, what the heck? I might as well dust off my sketch pad and join her. I’m not doing much else anyway.

So I did. And I loved it. I could practically hear my twelve year old self shaking her head and saying “Finally! How did you forget you like to draw?”

So this is my formal apology to twelve year old me because I totally did forget I like to draw. And what a bummer that is! I could’ve had so much time to enjoy another hobby over the last decade but I didn’t make time for/forgot that drawing is something that brings me joy.

What brings you joy? This is just a little example but the principle stands. With more time than usual available to us it’s easy to spend the day on your phone, watching a show, or simply losing track of time when we could instead be doing things that we love. (Granted, rock climbing or playing soccer may be a little harder, so at-home activities are probably best.)

I invite you to think of something that you love that you haven’t done in a while. Taking time for yourself, giving your brain time to relax, and doing something you genuinely enjoy are some of the best ways to recoup and rejuvenate. We all need that sometimes. Honestly, we all need that every day. If you take care of your mind then everything else becomes a little easier to manage, a little less complicated, a little more simple.

Now go and do! And let me know how it goes in the comments!

Sincerely,

Kayla