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Past hobbies

We've all had hobbies that have fallen by the wayside, right? But I still think they show a glimpse into who we are or, at the very least, who we were.

When I was a child, a big hobby of mine was collecting rocks. I liked the texture of some, the fossils in others, and the layers of color in still others. I wanted to hold onto them, keep them with me (even if it was just in a drawer of a cardboard cabinet of drawers). I think the fossils is how I initially got into them. I'm pretty sure in school we went to a rocky beach or a quarry and looked for fossils. But I also think that I like tangible pieces of memory. I don't remember the stories behind those rocks now and, in fact, I got rid of them all (except for one geode that I was gifted), but I'm sure I did at one point in time. I like having a tie to a memory or a piece of time in my life (perhaps that's why I'm even doing this prompt) and I think the rocks were a part of this. Each rock reminded me, at the very least, of finding beauty in my surroundings.

One hobby that has fallen by the wayside that I hope to pick up again is taking pictures of my Funko pop figurines. You can check out my Tumblr of them if you're curious, but note that some are NSFW. I remember reading a quote once (though of course I can't find it now) that you can pick things up again after setting them down for a while. That your old hobbies don't mind if you took a break and I hope that's true. I do plan to weed out my collection a bit, but I plan to get back to taking photos and putting goofy captions on them. I enjoyed it because it stretched my brain in ways that I didn't normally stretch it. I also felt like it was a form of play that as adults we don't get to indulge in very much. Besides, they're just cute.

I used to doodle quite a bit. Now this probably came from my hands (or even mind) feeling bored in class, but it was still something I enjoyed. I was kinda weirdly proud of my weird little doodles too. Now, I don't mean to suggest that I have a great artistic talent that has gone by the wayside, but it is a bit sad that I don't really find time to doodle anymore. It was nice to look back at the end of a year or semester and see my cute little sketches adorning my notebooks. It definitely helped me get through the school years, but they also made me smile afterwards. I know I have photos of some somewhere so let me know if you're interested in seeing my "style." I think this hobby fell away also because I have friends with genuine artistic talent that they both work on but were also just born with. I, by nature, compare myself to others, especially those close to me, so I felt my "art" (if you will) felt so inferior and thus a little invalid. I will say though that I remember another quote (that I again can't find) about how hobbies and art are meant to be enjoyed, not perfected to the point of being able to monetize it.

Another hobby that I would like to get back into is yoga. Now I was never a huge yogi, never did the most complex poses, never tried hot yoga (though I did try goat yoga), but I did do it several times a week for a while there. I definitely noticed a bit more stiffness in my back and joints after I stopped though. The thing is, I struggle to do physically active things. This is for a variety of reasons, but the biggest is that it tends to make me feel bad. I know that some people describe a rush of endorphins or a feeling of accomplishment, but I mostly feel shame. I struggle to do even basic exercises and I become more aware of my body (which I have a complicated relationship with) and then begin to think about all of its other flaws. Yoga usually didn't bring this on as I focused on gentle yoga and yoga taught by a plus size instructor who gave adjustments for poses for when you have a belly that gets in the way, but it is still something I struggled with and I eventually gave it up. I would be willing to try it again though, but maybe I'd start with bedtime yoga. Now while I would appreciate offers of doing yoga with me, I would prefer to do it alone as exercising with others makes me just compare myself to others, but alone I can more focus on myself.

Now it's your turn. What are some of your hobbies? What hobbies have you let go of? Which ones do you want/plan to go back to? Let me know!

(Prompt provided by Saskia Kiell)

"2009/365/259 Remnants of Graduate School" by Alan Levine


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