on creative hobbies

i don’t know if you’re anything like me, but i tend to feel guilty if i don’t immerse my brain in some sort of activity. this could be as simple as exploring an idea that was floating in my mind, or even solving a puzzle. however, it does not necessarily need to be related to sciences or any intellectual thoughts. i firmly believe creative hobbies are equally as significant, and i do think that there tends to be an underestimation on the importance of creativity and self-expression.

we can all agree that picking up any skill is, in a way, training your brain. when you try a new activity, a new set of neurons fire up in your brain, and the more often that you do that thing, the easier it gets for your brain to process doing it. now, i don’t necessary think it means that you’ll get good at, say, drawing (in general) if you draw the same exact thing every single day. but, i do think that you’ll get good at drawing if you practice drawing different things consistently over a long period of time.

i know that sucking is not the most pleasant feeling, and it tends to be the discouraging factor when trying out new things. however, if you can push past that then you can really create amazing things. failing is not a shameful thing, matter of fact, i think never trying is worse! seriously, so what if it sucks? i can’t be expected to produce some picasso-level piece on my first try. but with persistence and perseverance, maybe one day i can make something close enough!

what i said is not exclusive to creative skills, of course, it applies to any skill it may be. i do believe, however, that pursuing a creative hobby has its benefits when it comes to self-expression. sometimes you and i have days where we don’t feel like ourselves, or days where we feel inspired and motivated. sometimes we want some form of outlet for these feelings, be it negative of positive. you can write how you feel, you can draw how you feel, you can make things that bring you joy, for example, with clay or yarn or whatever medium you like.

and you know what the best thing about all this is? you can learn it for free. the internet is a vast sea of information, and you can literally pick any hobby to learn. february of last year, i decided i wanted to learn how to crochet. a big part of it is because my sister crochets and i wanted to enjoy it like she does. so, i bought a hook and a yarn ball (and that’s it!) and i looked up “how to crochet” on youtube and got to working.

i kept crocheting and frogging and crocheting and frogging until i was happy with my stitches. i kept at it and when i was satisfied, i picked a project to make. im pretty sure my first big project was the love letter book bag by mahum cuz it was nearing valentine’s day and i wanted to make something cute for myself. and i did make it! and after that another project and yet another. now, i get asked a lot how i learned how to crochet and unfortunately i have the boring answer: i youtubed it.

and im happy to say, this hobby brought me a lot of joy and good memories. whenever i wanted to relax, i could pull up a ghibli movie and get to crocheting. if i wanted to get a special gift for someone, i could just make it! i made so many cute and fun things for the people i love by myself, and they all appreciated it so much. it makes me so happy being able to create a unique and very personalized piece for someone that only they can understand!

so, why not pick up a new hobby? the new year is coming up and it’s a chance to start something new! not that you need a new year to start something but it seems like that’s the motivation peak for a lot of people. anyways, i leave you with the two winter bears i recently made as a christmas present posing in front of my spider plant, matilda<3.