The Natural and Acquired Hobbies in My Mid-20’s #44

If you ask a 3-year-old kid about their future ambition, they’re more likely to give you a better answer than me. It’s getting harder and harder to know what I want when I start understanding life. Of course, I’m not talking about those whose lives are already sorted out. How many of us are actually pursuing the career we wanted as kids? My hobby has changed over time too. Recently, I was watching some draw-my-life videos and noticed one similarity: “I used to make videos for my family and friends who liked them. Many said my videos were unique and funny, so I thought of making YouTube videos.” And then there’s me—no useful hobby that could be passed on as quality or an alternative career.😓

Hobby is something one does for pleasure in their free time. Why should I think about my career during this time? This is when I can sit back, relax, and do something that uplifts my mind and soul. I’ve been holding onto this thought for a while now. On the first day of university, the professor asked us to introduce ourselves and talk about our hobbies. Surprisingly, only two or three students out of 45-50 gave an answer.

I remember sitting at the back, thinking hard for a decent response but ended up saying what everyone else had already said. Why did we all have the same answer?

The question came up again in our “professional transformation” class just before graduation. The aim of the class was to transform college students into composed and professional individuals. They taught us etiquette and prepared us for interviews. The trainers were charismatic; they shared a lot with us in a short span of time. They gave us an idea of how to frame our answers, saying we shouldn’t mention hobbies like listening to music or Netflix-and-chill—it should be something related to the job profile instead, which is more impressive. I never understood why it’s wrong if I want to escape monotony in my free time!

Traveling through the timeline, I identified the evolution of my hobbies, or rather, “free time activities.”

Before Middle School (5th Standard and earlier): Painting, listening to stories (not at bed times), writing random shits, paper cutting(collecting photos of festivals)!

Middle School (6th-8th Standard): Reading story books, knitting, sewing, singing
(Can’t imagine I could knit and sew in my childhood, now I drag my feet to the tailor every time I have the minute sewing requirement.)

High School: The pressure was intense. I had no free time with tuitions, school and mountains of assignments. Watching Discovery and TLC shows on science, travel and cooking became a luxury. Occasionally, I wrote too.

College/University: Unfortunately, I spent most of my time online. Whether it was watching four seasons of a series back-to-back, reading articles, watching documentaries, or scrolling through the newsfeed – I rarely did anything outside this virtual world.

Present time: Free time is a luxury. Adult responsibilities take up most of my time and energy, but I still make an effort to include the things I love in whatever little free time I have. I like to review food and restaurants, sing, and write about how I feel. None of these are perfect, but they’re what interest me now.

So that’s all about my hobbies! If you like this blog, you can drop by my next blog here.