Hobbies Shmobbies

When I was a kid I thought Snap Dragons talked to each other when you weren't looking.

Exploring hobbies one hobby at a time. While my favorite hobby will probably always be drinking cocktails with my wonderful friends chatting, I've been searching for (and finding) new and fun ways to spend my time. To name a few: sewing, skateboarding and (fake) painting. Of course some of my hobbies like reading, writing and drinking cocktails remain and take up a significant amount of my time, I've had so much damn fun with these new things. With the fun has come some obvious frustration, but whats fun without frustration?! Here's what I've come to learn about some of these things.

Sewing: once I relearned how my sewing machine worked from the guide book and recalling things my mom taught me, I found its pretty damn simple. Obviously I'm not a seamstress or able to do just about anything I want (like my pro sewing mom), but it's certainly something everyone can learn if they want to. It'll take patience though and you'll have to be able to fear not the prick of a needle when you least expect it.

Skateboarding: I've just started to pick it up again. It's definitely something that the opinions of others can keep you from trying. Don't let their opinions get you down though, most people are actually quite supportive. Anyway it's so much fun and I'm super excited to improve. Sure I'm not a boy and super impressive, but honestly my goal isn't to be a boy and super impressive anyway so we're good. It doesn't hurt to have a best friend who also wants to test out the waters of this crazy thing called skateboarding, that way you two (or 3 or 4) can bond together and throw caution to the wind and all those other clichéd statements. One of the more thrilling aspects of said hobby is I get to meet and hang with so many new people and some I know, but don't see as often.

Natalie will probably win best dressed skater chick.

Painting: yeah you guys already know, I bought a paint by numbers and it's sort of difficult for my shaky hands (I have a tremor), but it's cool and fun and calming and I wouldn't really call it painting and it's taking awhile and its going to be so pretty and and and.

Reading: it'll save your life. Okay that's a bit intense, I know. But it's my favorite thing to do. Naturally that makes me seem somewhat boring and quiet, which sometimes I am, but it also allows me to live thousands of lives in addition to mine and thats something I just love more than I can perhaps put into words. I would love to one day write a novel, but I have yet to get to the point where as Toni Morrison put it, "If there's a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."

Drinking cocktails and chatting with friends: I haven't learned a thing about it other than its a wonderful way to spend time. It often brings with it laughter which I can say is one of the more thrilling pastimes I have encountered in my somewhat short life. Also its not dictated by the weather which is a huge perk.

Exploring new hobbies is, I think, very important. It helps to remind you what you're capable of and sometimes what you aren't. In the end what I like most about exploring hobbies are the people I have unintentionally and unexpectedly become closer to. There are so many people out there and its often difficult to bond when there isn't a clear common ground, but these things have provided me with some new common ground. Alright back to my main hobby of watching Netflix, see ya later.

We had fun.