I grew up around people who liked to do different things, and I have found that as I meet new friends I find myself interested in their hobbies. One of my best childhood friends loved to crochet, and I recall trying to learn because I was inspired. Another childhood friend was an avid tennis player and inspired me to learn to play, a sport I ended up doing for several years. The people around me combined a curiosity that has led me to many hobbies, occasionally putting aside old hobbies to take up new ones. My current phase: yoga and guitar.
When I was in high school, I tagged along to yoga classes with my parents and I truly despise them. I got bored within the first 10 minutes and had trouble focusing on an exercise that wasn’t like the vigorous swim practices I was used to. Since then, every so often, I would give yoga another try — only to come to the same conclusion.
In my sophomore year of college, I got into long-distance running, which became my hobby of the year; it cleared my mind and gave me energy — I was addicted to it, and I let it consume much of my free time; when I wasn’t running I was thinking about running. With this new hobby though, it became very important that I stretch properly to avoid injury. I had a stretching routine I would do post-run, but it was never relaxing or well-thought-out enough.
This year, at an especially invigorating swim practice, my friend asked me if I would join her for yoga at eight the next morning. I obliged — she caught me in a motivated mood — I signed up and set my alarms. Now when I tell you this yoga class changed my life…take it with a grain of salt considering the rate at which I move through hobbies. But really, it changed my entire perspective on yoga. I’m not sure if it was the teacher or if it had just been too long since I tried it, but it quickly became part of my daily routine. It was a perfect supplement to running and swimming, it was the perfect active meditation (another activity I struggled to get into in the past), and the perfect new hobby. It helps me feel present both during and after the class, and it allows me to stretch more mindfully.
I had always wanted to learn to play guitar when I was younger but was deterred because I heard it was very difficult to play (if you can’t tell I suffered from a lack of patience as a child). This past summer, when I visited my cousin’s new apartment, I remembered that he played guitar and expressed my long-standing desire to learn. He happily offered to teach me some basics, and I was immediately inspired to learn more. I wanted to learn my favorite songs and play them for my friends, a gradually increasing possibility — the guitar is, in fact, very difficult to play — but I am working on it!
My hobbies always change depending on my lifestyle at the time. Guitar and yoga fit in well now; the campus recreation center is right near my dorm and my cousin can teach me the guitar. But during the summer all I wanted to do was read: a perfect activity for babysitting after the kids fall asleep. Next semester when I study abroad though, I can’t bring a guitar…
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