🌲Hello and welcome back to the forest of learning! This post will be a little bit different compared to the rest of the posts on my blog. I am pretty bored today, so I thought I would create this post that I doubt many people will read. If you are reading this- you are a cool human. In this post, I will be focussing on my hobbies and why I enjoy them.🌲

So- this was not an assignment, and no one asked for this, however this post is just one example of a way I enjoy keeping myself busy through a hobby of mine; writing. Before I get into explaining my hobbies, incase you don’t know me personally, let me tell you a little bit about myself so that you get a sense of why I resort to my hobbies when feeling mentally drained.

I am an introvert, which, for me, kind of sucks. Many people assume that I am not, and this is probably because I genuinely enjoy interacting with people. I often wish I wasn’t introverted, because I love people- but, unfortunately, a lot of my energy gets drained by them. I often enjoy being a part of discussions and interacting with strangers or peers or really anyone! So, when partaking in my usual behaviours throughout the day, when I get home, I must do something about my mental state that is usually not in the best shape after spending time with people all day. This is when my hobbies come in handy because they often help me re-charge and prepare for my next endeavour.

So, without further a due, here are some of my hobbies:

Reading 📚

Reading has to be one of my favourite go-to hobbies. Reading books helps me escape reality and dive into a new one. It’s almost as if I am in two worlds: my book world, and my regular world. It’s like interacting with people and listening to stories, but with way less energy being wasted. I almost always have 1-2 books that I am reading that help my brain recharge and keep it motivated.

Writing ✍️

I love to write. Writing is a hobby that really helps me express myself. I write in my journal as much as I can (it tends to be about once weekly). Although writing is wonderful, I must say, it does take a lot of my energy and it also has to be done in a quiet environment, which, I do not always have access to. Writing, for me, is more of a past-time for something to do when I am bored than of something that helps me recharge.

Writing in my journal also tends to take many forms; I write reflections, stories, poems, thoughts and sometimes just random paragraphs about nothing in particular.

Sketching 🎨

I wouldn’t consider myself an artist, however, I really enjoy drawing. I have to be in the right creative headspace, but, I really do love to just draw with nothing on my mind. Creating art is almost always fun and it usually helps me recharge, but, sometimes it can be frustrating.

Solving puzzles 🧩

Puzzles are great. Like- really great. It can be anything from an actual puzzle with a goal of forming a picture, or just brain teaser games, but I find it to be a fun challenge and pretty exciting. The thing about this activity though, is the fact I just can’t do it for a long period of time. Reason being: at a certain point, it becomes more stressful and frustrating than enjoyable.

Playing instruments 🎼

When it comes to playing instruments, I am mainly referring to ukulele. This is a hobby that is a little bit more rare, as I often just end up playing it about once every two months. It is mainly a past time, but it really helps me recharge and focus on learning some of my favourite songs on a new instrument. I enjoy this activity, but sometimes it can be frustrating as I am self-taught and don’t always know how to do the right fingerings, remember the chords and strum patterns, and in general just play it correctly.

My ukulele named Aria

Being crafty 👚

CRAFTS! I love them. Crafting or what a lot of people consider “DIY’s” is something that I really enjoy. I like to sew, crochet, felt, knit and just in general create things. Often, I start off a craft with a solution to a problem such as: “oh! My friend has their birthday soon.. I should probably do something about that.” Or “this box is very boring, and, I am very bored, so maybe I should just decorate it”. Crafting is something I find myself doing a lot because I feel very productive when crafting. Compared to reading, writing, or physical activities, crafting for me makes me feel accomplished and happy almost immediately + it’s always a good way to get those creative juices flowing.

A binder that is now interesting

Little pine cone dude

Felted mushrooms

Baking and cooking 🍪

I mainly found a love for this hobby out of necessity, but it bloomed into a passion of mine. Currently, I make lunches and breakfast for myself almost everyday and also make dinner for my family at least two times a week. I love making food, mainly to see other people enjoy it. I love to experiment with new recipes and I enjoy creating dishes for the people I care about. On days I do not enjoy it, it’s mainly because it just takes time in my busy life, I just spend about half an hour in book land or taking a nap and I am ready to get cookin’ !

Sushi- or, more specifically, my first time making a salmon avocado roll

Pumpkin pie- isn’t it preeeeeeeetttttty?

Chocolate almond cake that was very scrumptious- even if my sister botched the parchment paper and I had only realized after I placed it in. Fun memories.

Singing 🎤

I wasn’t sure if I should really include this as a part of my list of hobbies because I don’t really find it to be an ‘activity’ as I pretty much find myself singing all of the time. Wether it’s going on a walk early in the morning, reading, drawing, cooking, sitting, standing, cleaning- pretty much anything, I always have a tune in my head. It can be anything from just random notes, to songs stuck in my head. Sometimes I even make my own songs on the spot. It also doesn’t always mean with words- I also enjoy humming and whistling tunes as well. Singing just makes me happy, there is really no other way of putting it.

Listening to music 🎧

Music is a huge part of my life. I end up singing more than listening to music, but music often helps me feel emotions and express myself easier. For example: let’s say I had a tough day and I just want to curl up in a ball and disappear- what does Teva do? Well, she will often just listen to some chill songs on her Spotify playlist, and find her internal screams have completely disappeared. Music is a great tool to spark emotions, and it is something that I resort to often.

Physical activity 🌲

Physical activity is something I try to partake in about three times a week. Wether it’s going on a walk, run, or hike, I find being active is most effective in making me feel productive and motivated, specifically when it comes to academic related activities.

Photography 📸

Taking photos is always something I enjoy doing- just, not as often as I wish I did. It takes time to plan and prepare your camera before taking photos, but, when I do, I always enjoy it. It makes me really happy to see the world in a whole new lens!

Other 🐝

Other than everything that I have listed, there are some activities that are just small and very enjoyable. Like making tea that helps me feel productive and happy, spending time with my lovely fuzzy children (Nym and Howl), to organize and clean things, work on some homework, name random inanimate objects around the house, or to just chill and watch some YouTube or, on occasion, Netflix.

My eraser, Gerett who is currently lost. I miss him.

My floofy child, Nym

🌲And now, my post concludes! This post was a fun past-time and I hope it may have helped cure your boredom a bit too. I love my hobbies because they make me happy and provide sources of joy in my life. As someone who feels stressed and mentally drained pretty often, resorting to hobbies is never a bad idea for me. Hobbies have always been a part of my life, and it is very effective in making me in a better mood. Do you have any cool hobbies? Or, is there anything that helps you recharge? It would be awesome to hear from you through leaving a comment! 🌲

as always thank you for watching me grow in the forest of

🌲learning🌲