Has anyone ever asked you ‘what’s your hobby?’ Or worse have you ever made the mistake of asking anyone this? I guess one has to wonder exactly what one would expect the answer to a question that’s, let’s be honest, fairly ridiculous. This question was put to me when I was in school and college. I always pondered what to reply, I didn’t want to say singing or dancing lest someone asked me to prove it by doing it, either at a family or friends get together. Neither was I one of those people who collected stamps or coins or butterflies. Believe me there are some people who do collect bugs!!
Why would anyone like seeing dead butterflies pinned in a book is beyond me. I usually got away by saying my hobby was swimming, which wasn’t really true but atleast nobody questioned the authenticity of that. If someone had to ask this today I really don’t know what I would say, maybe.. let see… Counting or plucking out the whites in my hair or better still guessing which apartment next to mine will be the next to
go under renovation or just scrolling through my insta feed at the end of the day and
praying to the Almighty to make my life even 5% cooler like the Instagram influencers ,whom I diligently follow. A hobby is an activity you do for pleasure in your free time. One would say painting, cooking, gardening can be considered a hobby, but then so is binge watching thrillers on Netflix or watching brain
rot content on YouTube. Can that be considered a new hobby?
I think some, if not most people would have very different hobbies now than those that were considered
normal back in the days. Looking for Northern Lights in Scandinavia or going white water rafting in Rishikesh or photographing the wildlife in the jungles of Tanzania could be some of the new
millennials’ latest hobbies.
There have been some who have asked me ‘So beta art is your hobby but what is it that you really do?’ They are faabbergasted that Art is not my hobby. Well that’s because being creative is second nature
to me. Art has been a part of my life since childhood and now it’s my career. I guess I am one of those lucky few who love what I do and have made a career out of it.
Whether it ‘s doing commissioned art (Art on made to order basis for clients) or teaching kids or being an art therapy practitioner to adults, I love all the hats I wear. So if you are into photography or cooking or singing, kudos to you for making a career out of that. To believe in yourself and follow your passion, your
heart is something one truly needs to be proud of. To wake up every morning to work that one truly loves
doing is just a blessing which very few of us experience.
A lot of ‘hobbies’ are calming and relaxing and with all the awareness about mental health nowadays it’s great to pick one or two if you have the time and desire to do it. What calms one can stress another, so choose wisely or be crazy and do what your heart desires. Life is too precious to be bothered by who’s judging you.
If you ever make the mistake of asking anyone ‘what’s your hobby?’ Don’t raise your eyebrows if they say ‘online shopping’ or ‘searching for extraterrestrial life out there’. After all, what is one person’s poison can be another’s cake.
What’s my hobby you ask? It’s making memories with my dog Max. Go find yours. What makes you happy should be your hobby.
