This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wilfrid Laurier chapter.

As we quickly approach a full year of life amid a global pandemic, we have all tried many new and old hobbies as a way to make the most out of time at home. This year, I have tried countless activities to bring me joy. Here is a definitive review of all of them.

All of these reviews are extremely subjective to my interests and approach to each of these hobbies; however, it does make a great list of things to try if you’re looking for something new.

Drawing: 6/10

For some, drawing comes easy; however, I have always been the person to want to be good at art but was never actually able to achieve drawing skills. For this reason, I spent a considerable amount of time in the summer months with a sketchbook attempting to make “practice makes perfect” a thing in real life. During these hours of drawing, “practice” did help make improvements. Still, I never moved past “mediocre” and eventually got bored.

Sewing: 10/10

If I achieved anything this past year, it was learning how to sew. One day I pulled out my grandmother’s old sewing machine and spent months playing around and teaching myself how to use it. Not only can I say I can sew, but I also enjoyed the process of trial and error, even with the intense frustration of spending hours working on a project, only to realize I made a mistake within the first five minutes that ruined everything.

Running: 8/10

Let’s preface this by acknowledging that I have never considered myself a good runner. However, I do consider myself a person who goes through running phases. Specifically, in the spring and fall when it is not too hot or too cold. Both this spring and fall, I was in a running phase and enjoyed running faster and longer each day.

Yoga: 5/10

I have had many run-ins with yoga throughout my life, and all I have to say about it is that I want to like yoga. I have tried to like yoga, but I am not quite there yet.

Puzzles: 10/10

I have no idea why, but I can spend an entire day working on a puzzle and thoroughly enjoy myself. In fact, the day will fly by. Since the initial lockdown, I have almost always been working on a puzzle in some shape or form, and it has been fantastic.

Sudoku: 7/10

Much like my puzzle addiction, I got very fixated on sudoku puzzles. Most likely enjoying them for the same reason as regular puzzles: I like to problem-solve. However, sudoku is not ranked with flying colours like regular puzzles because the phase came to an end.

Propagating Plants: 7/10

During the summer, I got really into propagating plants. What that basically means is to create a new plant out of one of your pre-existing plants. However, propagating plants is a long-term investment that takes months and a lot of time and energy. The excitement wore off and although it was fun at the time, this hobby has been archived until further notice.

Reading: 8/10

Having more time to read has been one of the upsides from this past year. I got back into reading, something which I fell out of during university, and have read countless books.

Journaling: 9/10

I have always journaled as a way to document and reflect on my lived experiences. For this reason, I found journaling to be beneficial during these times as it has helped me process change and work through a very unconventional time in my life.

Board Games: 8/10

I don’t think I have ever played more board games this year than in any other year of my life. It has been a great way to get off of my screen and bond with friends and family. Some notable games are Settlers of Catan, Monopoly, Ticket to Ride, and Risk.

Well, there you have it! All of my hobbies from this past year. I hope I inspired you to reflect on some of the things you have tried recently or maybe even try something new!

A Definitive Review of My Lockdown Hobbies