Once upon a time, you had hobbies. Real, honest-to-goodness, soul-nourishing hobbies. Maybe you painted watercolours that didn’t look like Majnu Bhai’s painting after three espressos. Perhaps you played the guitar, dreaming of the day you’d play your own concert instead of playing to your phone’s recording app. Or maybe you wrote poetry that didn’t just sound like a rhyming rant. Then, university happened. More specifically, a technical, professional university degree, and suddenly, you’ve transformed from a lively, wholesome human being… into a human-shaped algorithm.
Let’s be honest here: you didn’t want this life. No one wakes up in the morning and thinks, “Hey, you know what I’d love? To lose every personal interest I’ve ever had and dedicate my life to code, exams, and academic pressure.” But here you are, churning out assignments like an overworked AI, your eyes dry from hours staring at the screen, your soul just a little bit drier.
The Robotification Process
The transition into a robot doesn’t happen overnight; it’s sneaky, subtle, and perfectly curated by the universe (or perhaps the curriculum committee) and goes something like this:
Step 1: The “I Can Handle This” Phase
The first few weeks of university, you’re optimistic. “I’ll manage my time! I’ll balance my academics with my hobbies! I’ll join clubs, learn new things, and become a well-rounded individual!” You say this with the same enthusiasm as when you decide at 3 am that you are finally going to fix your life. Spoiler alert: it’s not happening. Instead, you’re in for…
Step 2: The “What Even is Free Time?” Phase
Assignments start rolling in like a tsunami. Quizzes, lab reports, exams, and projects all start pouring in non-stop. There’s always something due tomorrow (like this article of mine), or in five minutes. Your hobbies? They’re still there, theoretically. Like those unread books you optimistically bought and placed in your bookshelf, collecting dust as you pretend you’ll read them this weekend. But this weekend is never coming because any free time you get is going to be spent either napping or in mindless consumption of brain rot YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels.
Step 3: The Full Robot Transformation
You do not pretend anymore. You have forgotten the guitar. Writing? Maybe a 2,000-word essay on how the world should fear the rise of AI. You could recite your entire course schedule by heart but couldn’t tell anyone the second line of your favourite song. What was previously time for your evening walks is now spent cursing at elusive LeetCode test cases. For all intents and purposes, you have become an academic robot with work taking precedence over everything else.
But… Why Is This Bad?
At first, this trade-off may seem logical. After all, higher education is an investment in your future. But gradually, the realisation sinks in: something is missing. Robots don’t have feelings, but unfortunately, you’re not actually a robot. And that’s where things get messy.
Losing touch with what you love doing isn’t just an inconvenience; it takes a real emotional toll. You start to feel like a shell of your former self, the person who once marathoned anime or read saucy Wattpad fanfics for fun. Now? A nap is your idea of fun. You’re slowly but surely detaching from everything that made you feel like you.
Creativity is the first casualty. Your brain, once capable of whipping up original ideas, now feels like it’s been reprogrammed to only spew out code, mathematical formulas, or, worse, formal emails to professors. The artsy, spontaneous side of you that would doodle in the margins of your notebook now only exists to make the occasional Linked-List diagram. Spicy.
Then there’s the mental burnout. The pressure to get a job, the competition with your peers, the anxiety of falling behind—it all adds up. It isn’t long before you’re running on autopilot. You shuffle from class to class, lab to lab, feeling more like an academic machine than a living, breathing person with passions and interests. It’s like living in a futuristic dystopia, except without the cool sci-fi outfits.
Deactivating Robot Mode
Here’s the good news: you may feel like a robot, but you’re not beyond saving. There’s still hope for you to rediscover your lost hobbies and reconnect with the part of yourself that isn’t buried under piles of lecture notes.
- Make Time for Creative Breaks: Yes, I know it sounds counterintuitive to “schedule” something fun, but when your life is ruled by deadlines, sometimes that’s the only way to make space for non-academic activities. Set aside 15 minutes a day (just 15!) to do something unrelated to your coursework. Doodle, strum a guitar, write terrible poetry, or burn some cookies. Just remind yourself what it’s like to do something because you want to, not because it’s graded.
- Mini-Hobbies FTW: Who says hobbies need to be grand, time-consuming endeavours? You don’t need to start knitting a blanket or writing a novel. Try mini-hobbies—small, low-pressure activities that fit into your academic life. A quick sketch during a study break, a short walk to clear your head, or even making playlists. Anything that gets you out of robot mode for a few minutes.
- Say No to Perfectionism: Part of the reason hobbies fall by the wayside is the need to do everything perfectly. You might think, “If I can’t do it well, why bother?” But guess what? The point of hobbies isn’t to be amazing at them—it’s to enjoy yourself. So, paint that weird abstract thing, write that nonsensical story, or sing off-key. You don’t need to be good at your hobbies; you just need to do them.
- Join a Club or Group: One of the easiest ways to reclaim your hobbies is to surround yourself with people who have similar interests. Join a university club or an online community where you can geek out over anime, books, or even birdwatching. Being surrounded by others who like similar things helps you keep your mind engaged with your passion, even when academics try to take over.
- Remember Why You Started: Your hobbies were there for a reason: they brought you joy, helped you relax, and reminded you that life isn’t all about grades. Reconnect with that feeling. Remind yourself why you loved drawing, playing music, or gaming in the first place. It’ll help you carve out time for them again.
Reboot Your Human Side
At the end of the day, you’re not a robot. You’re a person, an imperfectly perfect, wonderfully creative person. And of course, your degree might make you feel like a brain-dead machine sometimes, but you don’t have to lose yourself in the process. Reclaim your hobbies, nurture your interests, and take time to remind yourself that there’s more to life than code, exams, and career prep. Because at the end of the day, when all this is over, you’ll want to look back and remember that you were more than just a grade-generating robot.
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