"A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away" — Phyllis McGinley
What is a hobby? I looked up some definitions, and to sum it up, a hobby can be defined as an activity one might pursue in one's free time, with merely the pleasure it gives as the motivation and the reward. Some of our pursuits might start as hobbies, but I've read interesting stories about people that have gained financial freedom through the enjoyment of their hobbies. Crypto-trading, anyone? Today, I'll tell you about some of the activities I have been pursuing for years. I consider them my hobbies because of the immense pleasure I get from engaging in them.
This post responds to yet another amazing weekly topic, proposed by Galen for the Weekend Engagement. You can find the original post, containing all the prompts and rules, here. If you're reading this and haven't participated, kindly allow me to encourage you to do so. I promise you'll have fun! And if you've already written your entry, be sure to check other authors' take on the topic. There are a lot of interesting views out there.
Reading
I learned how to read when I was three. I still can remember distinctly the little book we used in preschool, the letters, strange symbols at first; the phrases, taking meaning and opening a whole new universe in front of my eyes. The first real book I remember reading was a child-adapted version of One and a Thousand Nights, a medieval collection of traditional tales from the Middle East. From that moment on, I knew how valuable it was to be able to travel to places, discover new cultures, and fall in love with characters. All through the pages of a book.
I wasn't the kind of child to read stories for kids. Besides, our library was filled with grown-up books, all at the reach of my fingers, right there to please my avid desire for knowledge. I read Cien años de soledad, by Gabriel García Márquez, when I was eight. If you are not familiar with the book, well, I'll just say it isn't for most adults, let alone for children.
I found so much pleasure in reading it was all I did, for quite some time. I read so much that my mom used to punish me by taking away my favorite books, as an attempt to keep me present in reality. In response, I would switch my wake-up time to two hours earlier, when everyone else was asleep, and I would read, surrounded by the peace of dawn.
Writing
From my love for reading stems my desire to write. I believe that writers, true writers, are divine creatures that have been commended with the holiest of tasks: to channel and translate human experiences into a universal understanding. If you think of the writers you like the most, I'm sure you'll agree.
I don't aim for divinity or perfection, but I'd love to be a writer. I believe I have unique things to say, and when I'm in front of the keyboard, my fingers tingle with excitement. if I could pick just one thing to do for the rest of my life, I would write. Write to me, to others; on the computer, on a notebook, on a piece of paper, even on a napkin.
I wrote my first poems when I was six, and my mom was keen enough to keep them stored. I have them immortalized in photos. In them, I speak about love, loss, and death. Looking back, I almost can't believe they're my words, at such a young age. But I see my reflection on the words, and I know they are mine.
Art
For as long as I can remember, art has been a strong, constant presence in my life. I grew up surrounded by brushes, paint, canvas; also music, and films. Art has many forms, and I've been lucky enough to experience almost all of them from real close. I dabbled with theatre for at least two years, for example.
If it had been up to me, I would have started taking dance (ballet, specifically) as soon as possible. It's still on my wish list. Another thing I'm yet to try is taking music lessons. I love the piano; the tenderness of the notes it produces is something magical. But, as of now, I would consider starting with the guitar, simply because my littlest brother loves it, and I would absolutely love to be his teacher, once I've learned enough, of course.
What I sure did a lot, was to paint and draw. Having so many art materials in the house, it was inevitable to experiment with them. Something I absolutely enjoy is the smell of paint. Earthy, crude, unique. I even find myself opening my sketchbook to smell past paintings, and in doing so I truly feel them.
I had stopped painting for a long period of time, until a month ago. Being here inspired me to try and bleed my thoughts into a canvas. Bleed in a pleasant kind of way, like letting go of weight, and allowing it to flow freely, in the form of paint. I'm grateful to have found pleasure again in drawing and in painting. I try to do it almost every day now.
Hiking
When my mom decided that our new religion was going to be nature, I jumped in excitement. Not sure if I actually did that, but that's the feeling I remember. From then on, we started going to the mountain every Sunday for a long hike, a 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. kind of thing. I try to find the words to describe the sensation of being immersed in nature and its sounds, its smells, and I'm not sure I can. I just know that being there, sweating my arse off, gasping for air, was perfect. It was just right. The natural thing to do.
Then, during my teen years, my mom became an activist for nature and started a whole movement to save our precious mountain (El Avila) from provoked fires and unscrupulous construction inside of the protected areas. Our weekly hikes now had a higher purpose, to reforest and take care of the damaged zones. If that's not religion, I don't know what is.
I've neglected my love for hiking; life happened, and here I am. The last hike I did was last year, on Nov 21 (my mom's birthday). It was a strange day, and it didn't go as planned. But I got to enjoy nature with my little brothers, and that was pure bliss. Here and now, I promise to myself to honor this hobby of mine, and go on a well-deserved hike sooner rather than later. There, it's written, I gotta do it now. No excuses.
Final thoughts
The hobbies I've talked about today with you feel actually like something a lot deeper. Maybe it's just me, but I've always considered the word hobby as rather frivolous and trivial, although the activities considered as such are definitely not. For me, these pursuits are the different routes I take when on the path to know and explore myself. They make the entanglement of my deepest desires, the skein of my dreams. They are my life.
Sources of the images, in order of appearance:
📷 by Steve Johnson
Me as a kid. This image belongs to me.
My first poems (if you'd like to see them translated, let me know!). These images belong to me.
Some of my paintings. These images belong to me.
Some of my hiking memories throughout my teen years. These images belong to me.
I'd like to thank THE WEEKEND community and Galen, its founder, for yet another opportunity to reflect on life. I look forward to next week's topics. I thank you for reading this too.
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I appreciate your hobby, sketches are looking so real specially the tears of blood seems real. Keep it up and wish to see more art work from you. Thank you!
Thank you for your words of appreciation! I'm glad you enjoyed reading my posts. And yes, I like to play with paint, specially if it's crimson red. I took the photos while the paint was still wet to give it a more realistic look. I'm glad it worked out! I'll be sure to keep them artworks coming, stay tuned!
You're welcome and I'm glad that you keep them coming, stay in touch. Have a nice day!
Sure, have a nice day as well!
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This is such a beautiful post!
writers, true writers, are divine creatures that have been commended with the holiest of tasks: to channel and translate human experiences into a universal understanding.
Poetic!Writers, painters, singers, are creatures touched by an infinite intelligence through artistic expression. It is marvelous to be so gifted!
Nature is the new religion for me as well. This post felt like you are taking a walk down memory lane and slowly discovering and rediscovering yourself all over again. True hobbies stem from inner passion. Life can make you take a break but you will always return and find yourself again through your artistic expression. Thank you for the reminder!
Thank you for this lovely comment! It was indeed a walk, like taking a hike alone on an isolated mountain. Only myself to listen to the sounds of nature and its messages. I'm glad you felt it that way!
Hereby I decree that the reminder shall come from your inner voice from this day on. I spoke to it and told it to be gentle yet firm. Art can save this mess of a world, I'm sure. We just have to overcome the barriers that society has built inside of us.
I appreciate your words, and you, very much! Thank you for stopping by. Come again anytime! 💜
It was my pleasure🤗🥰
Wow, what a great way to start my day, reading this post. What a special child you were learning to read at age 3, amazing! Thanks for sharing these special memories like your first poems and stories about hiking with your family.
Loved this part:
<3 Great explanation, I think you're write! (lol, word-joke!)
Hahaha I laughed so hard at the word-joke!! Can I tag @ everyone here so the world sees it? It's a gem! Still laughing hahaha thank you for this! I'm tearing up and everything 😂
It might have been that I was really bored 😅 my overly active imagination had my whole family on edge all the time. I was still an only child and there was nothing that could keep me still, and quiet, until I learned how to read.
Thank you for your lovely comment and your word of appreciation! 💜 I'm glad you enjoyed my stories.
LOL, I'm glad I could do that for you, make you laugh this hard. I have to smile myself from imagining how you're all cracked up at that word joke :-)
Go ahead and tag the world, not sure if they find it as funny as you did though, lol.
Nothing wrong with keeping yourself busy by learning how to read if you're bored. There are much worse ways to deal with that, so you probably did well!
Welcome! I'm gonna try and check in more often, I always appreciate your comments as well, and often I read things and forget to comment (like I mentioned earlier) or I'm not logged in. Comments are valuable so I will do better!
Reading, writing and hiking are three of my favourite hobbies also! Art? Well, I'm the world's best hugger but world's worst artist so I'll have to deal with it. I think three out of four isn't bad.
I loved seeing your first poems written out and whilst my command of the Spanish language is non-existent it was cool to see your writing at least. I'm sure the poems were legit.
I have written two books myself, one of 440,000+ words and the one pictured below. It's a close thing as to which is better but considering I don't let people see the bigger one I decided I'll share this one. I will do a post about it someday.
I wrote this when I was five and in bed with the measles. It was for a competition at school and I won, so the book was inserted into the library for borrowing. It was borrowed once, by a girl called Erin - I know this as her name, date of borrowing and returning is in the back on a little slip.
I'll be honest, the storyline is a little predictable but it finishes with a flourish and the illustrations, all my own of course, are pretty magnificent.
I'll get a post done one day, maybe a video of me reading my book also.
I think, when I do a post about it, I'll do a prize for the person who picks which day of the week face is a self portrait of me. Good idea?
Thanks for such an awesome post for this week's topic Eliza, I appreciate your support and the effort you always put into your posts.
Not sure how many this is but I'm sure I'm behind.
Thank you sir.
World's best hugger huh? I wonder what that's like. Do they accept volunteers for the tournaments and such? Or do the contestants hug each other? Or do you hug the judges? The whole thing sounds very interesting. You should write about that.
I could translate the poems for you if you want, link them in a separate comment. Not sure if they're worth a post, they're just ramblings of a six-years-old kid with a lot of crazy ideas in her mind. I still don't know where I got them haha the poems are quite funny, I always laugh out loud when I read them.
A book of 440,000+ words written by you? I won't lie, it sparked my curiosity a tiny bit. Okay maybe a lot. And the book you wrote when in bed with the measles... You sure like to be productive huh? I got the measles when I was twenty (sorry world, my mom's an anti-vaxx) and it didn't cross my mind to do something so awesome. I was mostly crying like a baby hahaha
I'd definitely love to see more of that book. Okay maybe I want to see everything. And the post/contest idea sounds amazing. I'm up for the challenge.
Thank you for your words of appreciation and for coming up with such great prompts. THE WEEKEND community is an awesome place to be. We should gather signatures and push a law to make the weekend last seven days. Just saying.
My hugs have to be deployed with great caution, not everyone can deal with the awesomeness of one of my hugs...One must be the right person...If not then it's just a hug. The right people though...It's pretty hugtastic. Hmm, hug-volunteers...An interesting concept and one I must contemplate. I'm not sure I could describe what it's like...Sort of like a hug from a koala but far more amazing.
Crazy six year old kid poems could be interesting. I'd say post-worthy.
My book...440,000+ words of fiction, an action/adventure/romance set in a mediaeval world of my creation. It's got a bit of everything. Took me a year to write. I've had it hard-bound. I don't let people read it.
I'll do a post on my days of the week book though. Could be fun.
Thanks for being involved in my community and the weekend-engagement concept it's so nice to have your excellent posts in the community.
Hurry! Quick!! You gotta click this right now!
💖
I FOMO'd so hard and clicked in such a rush! Hahaha
That's a dope track. Cool og vibes.
Very appropriate too! I see what you did there.
It's not every day I get to say revivifying but that's what your content is so there thbbbb!
Revivifying
I like your comments so much hahaha
Congratulations on finding your hobbies! I recently participated in a Journaling challenge for 30 days and a few weeks later I find Journaling to be a relaxing new hobby. Find what you like and tell a story, People love seeing the progression. Good luck on your future activities!
That sounds great! Which side of Journalism are you most interested in?
Thank you for your kind words! Good luck to you too.
impressive life's journey...i had similar experience growing up.…
Really? How so? And I'm glad you enjoyed the post, thank you for taking the time to read it and to comment.
Oh my god, what an amazing gift you have been given to convert your thoughts into such beautiful powerful words. Your idea of writers is exactly what I believe, and exactly what you do.
The hobbies you describe here make me curious about more of your art, they make me long to see THAT mountain, see the memories, the present, and the past come together. And make me wish for you that nature can calm your overactive mind...
Join your thoughts with the forces of nature and feel alive!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post! I'm glad that so many people have connected with my description of true writers, including you. I'm honored that you consider me as such.
It's so good to have sparked your curiosity, and I look forward to your feedback. Feel free to tell me what you think with utmost honesty. I'll make a post soon about the precious mountain we have in our city, so you can experience it too.
I'll let the forces of nature flow within, through, and with me.
Your comment is very much appreciated, as are you!
You are very welcome and it´s a pleasure to connect with you through your beautiful writings.
Hello @beautifulwreck,
I felt just that from reading your beautiful post:)
I can also feel your positive energy through your writing.
You already are:😊
Hello! Thank you for your beautiful comment. I'm glad you enjoyed this post. I appreciate you taking the time to read it and to further connect with me. See you around!
I don't have time to do more than a quick read on posts lately (sorry @Galenkp) but, this had its hooks out and drug me in.
Everything about it warmed my soul. You have such beautiful gifts and I am so glad that you have taken them out to play with again! I look forward to reading more!
Hello! I feel honored that you took some time to read my post and leave a comment. Thank you!
I'm glad my words projected warmth into your soul. I appreciate your kind words, and you, very much!
Wonderful article! I love hiking as well but due to the pandemic I haven't been able to keep up my hobby either!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it, I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and leave a comment. I hope the situation resolves soon enough for you, so you can hike as much as you want :)
I love the way you phrased the skein of your dreams. That should he am art piece. I would be interested in the translation of your poems! Kids have such a unique perspective about things. I would love to know your thoughts as a child.
Hi! Thank you for your lovely comment. I've been thinking about making a post with the translation of the poems, since a few people have been interested in knowing more. Would you like me to tag you when I do so you can check it out?
I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and leave a comment. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Yes, please! That would be great.
wow just wow!
this post really hit home with me. I agree, art and all self expression has a deeper role in my life than just a hobby, it is my savior when humanity let me down and is a great sorce of joy and comfort today. Thank you for this post
I !LUV it
Hi there! I'm glad you enjoyed this write-up and saw yourself reflected in my words. Thank you for stopping by!