i think everyone needs at least one hobby they feel competent at (for the reward of achieving results and of doing something fulfilling) and at least one hobby that they are absolutely dogshit at (to cultivate an attitude of learning and staying humble). ideally, you have like 4-10 that you are cycling through in the course of a single year
I am perpetually cycling hobbies, this is the correct way. Some of them I have been cultivating for years by doing youtube research and buying supplies only to pull them out years later. It's the best.
I:
- knit
- draw
- cook
- bake
- sing
- violin
- accordion
- wood work
- paper craft
- read
- paint
- hike
- 3D model/print
- video game
- smoll electronic (keyboards mostly but also am retrofitting a old synth accordion for midi)
- retro game repair/mod
- archery
- shooting
- keep bees
- mend clothing
- repair/restore things
it is vital to note I am terrible at many of these, have not done several in five or more years, only consider myself to be a master at one, and am certainly forgetting several. it is also vital to note the key principle is fostering curiosity and a willingness to just try. it is also also vital to note all hobbies intersect and inform one another in some form. There is great joy in suddenly realizing "oh!! this is like ____ in _____"
I also cannot stress enough you should not buy into the lie you have to start with fancy equipment or even good or even decent equipment. Start cheap, learn what you can and then expand when you have learned more through your own experience of the thing. If you live in a city, your local library is very likely to have some super neat equipment and expensive software available to use either in-house or for checkout. A lot of places are trying to offer materials for dirt cheap or even for free to their patrons--I'm talkin 3D filament, laser cutting stock, dye sublimation paper, yarn, lots of stuff! If you have transportation, nearby cities/other branches/other towns may have a cool thing called "reciprocal borrowing" where your local card also works there (free materials are generally exclusive to their specific patrons tho--it's tied to who funds the library)!
