Corine HarpeOne of the most common icebreaker questions in any getting-to-know-you situation is: "What are your hobbies?"
When I was younger, I struggled to answer this question.
In high school, ballet, jazz and modern dance were my extracurricular activities and, while I enjoyed them, they were less hobbies and more essential to the goals I had set for myself at the time in order to be what I considered successful. I was proud that dance would enable me to be accomplished both artistically and athletically but, since these activities were tied to school, there was a certain amount of pressure to do well, along with a slight fear of failure.
School-related activities were important because they taught me how to be focused and driven, but looking back on those years, I realize that I lacked a true hobby, something that would allow creative enrichment without the pressure of a schedule, deadlines or even really a purpose.
At the time, I did not really see the point of a hobby. I did not want to spend my free time working on some sort of project; I just wanted to rest.
Some might consider my high school free-time activities as hobbies, but to me they were really just forms of relaxation. Two were rollerblading around my neighborhood and keeping up with my favorite TV shows. In retrospect, rollerblading was a bit embarrassing because I must have looked ridiculous, skating in circles around our neighborhood cul-de-sac with my portable CD player, but adolescent me enjoyed the solitude.
In terms of TV shows, this was before the days of Netflix and Hulu. There were fewer TV options and keeping up with a show made it seem like a hobby. Still, it required little effort.
When I reached my college years, the notion of having a hobby was replaced with packed class schedules and extracurricular activities that all held an air of seriousness since I was trying to prepare for a future outside of college. The idea of arts and crafts or cooking seemed superfluous and insignificant.
In the years after school, I still held the belief that time could be better spent on so many other, more useful, more important, or even more relaxing activities.
That is, until recently. A love of TV the show "Project Runway," combined with some Pinterest motivation, awakened my creativity.
Working in retail helped me develop an interest in fashion and fashion trends;"Project Runway" contributed to the fascination. In the show, the contestants are responsible for designing and making their own garments in a very limited amount of time. For anyone interested in fashion or completing projects in general, it is nothing short of inspiring. After watching many episodes, I got the idea that I wanted to create something.
Even though I have a sewing machine, I knew that I could not make a dress, or even a shirt, and be happy with it. Being overly ambitious would lead to stress and disappointment. But I had noticed during the past few winters that scarves were extremely popular, and crocheted scarves seemed beginner friendly. Crocheting also seemed easier than knitting. I just had to work with one crochet hook and yarn. How difficult could it be?
One of the most amazing and beneficial aspects about our technological world is the abundance of information right at our fingertips. If someone wants to learn a basic skill or craft such as cooking, elements of home improvement or, in my case, crocheting, with patience and dedication it is possible to become quite skilled from pictures and online videos.
After a week of dedicating my evenings to learning the craft of crocheting, pausing and restarting the same video over and over - and going through a lot of yarn - I finally mastered the simple stitch. There are benefits to attending actual crocheting classes.
Once I got the basics, though, I began to understand the more-complex stitches and progression came easily, but instead of a scarf I now had more of a hat, if you could call it that. Despite its appearance, I was very proud of my "scarf," and the amount of concentration that learning to crochet required became a stress relief.
It was something I could get lost in but, unlike watching a TV show, it provided more than relaxation because I had created something, something that did not carry any pressure or stress with it. Instead, I was teaching myself to embrace the learning process.
I realized that people have hobbies because sometimes it is not about the big picture, but the small accomplishments and the joy that comes from simple creations. I no longer think of hobbies as wastes of time. They give our minds a break by allowing us to discover our creative processes and open us to small inspirations.
Contact Corin Harpe at corinharpe@gmail.com.