…And some other tangents in between.
As an art student, it is difficult to create art for yourself that you enjoy due to deadlines, project restrictions, and a bunch of other stresses that lead to creativity or art burnout. This burnout is the reason why I chose photography as my major over fine art. I adore fine art, but I do not enjoy it as much under crazy strict deadlines and restrictions. I have not been able to work in the artistic realms that I love to do for fun. Thanks to winter break, I was collaging, painting, and even sewing again. Along with some other things like blogging and reading.
Coming back to old hobbies is jarring. You used to be proficient or beyond at a skill, and now you feel like a beginner again, but with more knowledge than expected. You have some expectations for what the outcome should be and when you struggle to achieve it, you become discouraged from trying again.
I have never been consistent at sewing. It is truly my on and off hobby. In November, I brought 2 headscarves from Urban Outfitters and I love them. I decided I wanted to make some of my own when I went home. I have made 3 as of now. That was in 1 day, a few weeks ago. I have been discouraged. I struggled with the hem of the silk and satin fabrics I was using, and I could not get the size correct despite using the ones I brought as a reference. I want to try again because I have these beautiful silk fabrics waiting to be used. I don’t want this project to fade away because I was not happy with the prototypes.
The same goes for blogging. I know I am not consistent and I take many breaks. I have lots of dead Tumblr blogs that are either gone or empty. I love the idea of blogging. It seems like a fun way to talk about things you are interested in with others and you can be as terse or long winded as you would like. And thanks to Pinterest, a blog could help others in their search for something. I don’t expect grand things from my blog. I blog for fun and I want to keep it that way. I don’t want to constrict myself under 1 sphere and I want to post when I want and what I want. This is what I would do with Youtube if I didn’t hate editing and have now given up on that hobby.
Anyway, I have been enjoying this last month of blogging again. The weekly vibes are so fun to post and reflect on my week. I am slowly getting back into reading so of course I will be posting bookish content. And I love life posts like this. Where it feels like a chat but without any topic restrictions.
There are hobbies that I don’t want to give up on because they genuinely make me happy. There are hobbies I am content with giving up on because they bring me more stress and pain than happiness. My word of 2021 was happiness. I wanted to feel happy with myself and with my life. Sure it was a lonely year, but I improved my happiness. I gave up on the hobbies and people who did not add any improvements to my life. I focused on what made me smile and go, I’m proud of myself.
For 2022, I want to challenge you to get back into something that brought you joy. Whether it be doodling, reading, going for a long drive or walk. Start it up again. In most cases, you are never too old to do something. Do not give up on the things that make you feel like a child again. It is never too late to achieve happiness.
take care,
aless ♡
aless the introvert 