By: Maddie Schmidt
I have always considered myself someone who loves hobbies. Since I was a kid, I have
particularly loved drawing. I noticed, however, that since starting college, that hobby slowly
began to fade into the background.
This last summer, I finally opened my sketchbook again. My art had previously brought
me so much joy, and I felt like I was revisiting a version of myself that I had forgotten existed.
Somewhere between our deadlines, exams and plans for the future, the things we do
simply because we enjoy them can start to disappear.
Reading becomes something assigned for class. Free time becomes time to catch up on
work. Even the activities that once brought us joy can start to feel like luxuries we can’t afford.
But since rekindling my love for drawing, I have discovered a new appreciation for
hobbies. For students, hobbies can be a way to reconnect with a part of themselves that exists
beyond their academic responsibilities, future careers and ever-growing to-do lists.
Ainsley White, a freshman allied health major, explained that her hobby of photography
is playing an important role in her life, especially as a young adult.
“I’ve been drawn to photography at this point of my life because everyone I know is
going through such special moments of their life,” White said. “People are graduating, finding
their significant other, getting engaged, having weddings, and I want to be able to capture those
special moments.”
White further explained that she particularly enjoys the creative outlet that photography
gives her, which is something she struggles to find in her day-to-day college life.
“With being so busy and wrapped up in classes,” White said, “being able to have
something to look forward to like taking photos and sitting down to edit them allows me to take a
break from being overwhelmed and gives me the chance to be creative.”
Ella Cheeks, a sophomore allied health major, also expressed her appreciation for the
creative outlet that her hobby, embroidery, has given her.
“Having embroidery as a hobby allows me to be creative,” Cheeks said. “School and jobs
don’t always leave room for that. With embroidery, I can turn my brain off and just enjoy the
process. Other responsibilities require more of my attention and I feel like I always need to be
one step ahead in order to not fall behind.”
Aaron Hanson, a sophomore biophysics major, explained that playing the piano and the
organ helps him to feel anchored despite his hectic schedule.
“At this particular point in my life, I am busier than I have ever been in my entire life,”
Hanson stated. “Being able to squeeze in a little time each week to play the piano and the organ
really helps me to get through each day. We all need something to ground us when we are busy
and to give our minds a moment to rest.”
Keaton Drake, a sophomore psychology major, expressed that he feels similarly about
playing the electric guitar and bass.
“Guitar and bass are definitely ways that I try to reconnect with the parts of myself that
get lost in the busyness of life,” Drake said. “College takes up so much of my time—so much so
that sometimes I forget to just do things for myself.”
Beyond the struggle of our stressful school schedules, our time spent on social media has
affected the time spent on our hobbies.
On one hand, Drake explained that we often don’t realize how much time we spend on
social media that we could be dedicating to our hobbies instead.
“We spend so much time on our phones and on social media that we simply run out of
time for hobbies,” Drake stated. “That includes me; I know I should be practicing, but instead, I
catch myself scrolling.”
On the other hand, Cheeks explained that sometimes the fact that we live so much of our
lives on social media could also be a motivator for young adults to pursue their hobbies.
“I think people are probably becoming more interested in hobbies again because a lot of
us feel like we need to always be doing something,” Cheeks said, “and a hobby at least makes it
so we aren’t scrolling.”
This productivity culture that makes us as students feel like we can never truly have
downtime is part of what makes our hobbies feel so relieving.
Cheeks explained that hobbies give us a way to relax and de-stress without feeling lazy.
“Hobbies can allow you to feel productive when, in the end, it doesn’t really matter,”
Cheeks said. “Everything I do in other areas needs to show results, but even though I want
results in embroidery, there aren’t any real stakes to it. I don’t get a grade attached to my hobby,
only my own satisfaction.”
Drake explained that the only expectations placed on our hobbies are the ones we place
on ourselves.
“Learning guitar is a way for me to do something simply for the sake of getting better,
because I want to,” Drake said. “I get to make little improvements and feel proud of myself
because no one is expecting anything from me. I can get better at my own pace, and I can enjoy
the process.”
Not only do our hobbies live outside the expectations of others, but they give us the space
to live outside the expectations of others as well. Hanson explained that our hobbies allow us to
figure out who we are.
“Having a hobby gives you an identity that you place on yourself,” Hanson stated. “When
you have a hobby simply to satisfy your own curiosity and for your own enjoyment, you put your
purest self into the hobby, which is reflected in the results.”
Investing in a hobby is about more than finding something to do with the time between
classes and assignments. It’s about remembering that there are parts of ourselves worth nurturing
outside of what we study and what we accomplish.
The things we enjoy don’t have to lead somewhere. A half-finished drawing, a book read
purely for pleasure or an instrument played for no audience can be worthwhile in its own right.
Sometimes, the activities we set aside as life gets busier are the very things that remind us of
what makes life enjoyable in the first place.
