We all have those days of boredom where we’re not bored enough to do chores or homework, but we’re too bored to simply sit and watch Netflix as a way to kill time. Most people, when experiencing days such as those, tend to find one or two hobbies that they thoroughly enjoy. However for me, that isn’t the case. I seem to have this slight issue where my sense of boredom gets bored. Now before you get confused, allow me to elaborate. Just as previously stated, I, like most individuals, take up a hobby when I’m bored. The catch for me is that I get bored of those hobbies at a concerningly rapid rate. Due to this fun little quirk, I’ve tried almost every hobby in the book. As a result, I am here to spread my abundance of knowledge and give honest reviews on those that I’ve tried so that you don’t have to.
First up we have what I like to call the crafty/tactile hobbies, which include knitting, crocheting, jewelry making, sewing, and gardening. These hobbies were very fun for me to take up, and since I’m a very tactile learner, I picked them up fairly quickly. However, due to my lack of patience and absence of perfectionism, I tended to drop them just as quickly. It was very convenient for me to take up knitting, crocheting, and jewelry making. and sewing since I could relax and watch TV as I worked on the project at hand. This was especially nice when I needed to feel a false sense of productivity to remove the guilt of watching Netflix. Another bonus is that handmade items always make for great gifts. The only downfall I really found about this one is that once you lose interest or realize that it’s not your calling, it’s very hard to get rid of all the material you bought and/or projects you’ve made. I have so many unused balls of yarn, and let’s just say if you ever need a knitted scarf made with love….well, I’ve got you covered.
Then you have hobbies such as sports, which are very common. Throughout my life I’ve tried many sports, all of which have been in some sort of competitive atmosphere. These include soccer, basketball, tennis, gymnastics, badminton, volleyball, shot put, javelin, dance, and swimming. I won’t go into detail of comparing every sport, but I’ll give a quick breakdown of my thoughts on sports as a hobby. Since I’m someone who can’t sit still, I have found that having sports to fall back on when I’mbored is very useful. Not only did it keep me busy, but it allowed me to get some exercise in. I also still to this day have many friends that I’ve made from sports that I’m so grateful to have in my life. Without organized sports, I would’ve never met them. As for downfalls, as far as hobbies go, this one took the most time commitment and usually felt like more than just a hobby. Since I mainly stuck to team sports, it wasn’t necessarily something I could take up when I was bored and alone, but rather was at specific times that I’d have to work into my schedule. However, even with this in mind, I continue to work sports into my busy schedule because it’s mindless exercise and a great way to burn off stress from school!
Lastly, we have artsy hobbies such as photography, writing, music, and learning languages. These hobbies are usually the ones I take up the most when I’m off from school. This is due to the fact that some of them, such as learning languages, challenge my brain, so when I’m off from school I can continue learning. Obviously since you’re reading this article, you’re aware that I do still enjoy taking up writing, especially since as an engineering major, I don’t get to do any writing other than lab reports, which, as we all know, don’t leave much room for any creativity. Hence why I love using the platform and opportunities that HerCampus provides me as an outlet. I also tend to dabble in photography, but this one only sparks up when I see something beautiful, usually in nature, that I know my iPhone won’t capture the real essence of. Nonetheless, I did have a period where I was very into photography. In fact, I was my highschool’s yearbook photographer and took several couples’ prom pictures when the season came about. As fun as it was to be able to show people how I see the world, it took a lot of work to edit and sort through the pictures to find the best shots. This is why I stick to music since it’s all in the moment. I have tried many instruments, but my go-tos are always piano, guitar, and ukulele, depending on my mood. I have no complaints when it comes to music except that good quality instruments can be costly. That said, most of the time, it’s worth the price tag. Not only does learning new instruments or songs challenge my brain, but it also allows me to express myself emotionally in a way that words can’t.
Overall, the artsy hobbies are the ones I partake in the most when I have downtime/moments of boredom. But as I said before, my boredom gets bored, so I still continue to jump back to my sports and tactile crafty hobbies. At the end of the day, everyone has different experiences with hobbies, and I believe it’s very important to find the ones that suit you the best. Because even with all the trial and error that I’ve gone through, having that escape to fall back on in my moments of stress or boredom is what makes it all worth it.