Hobby. That is quite a word when you’re an adult. When you’re young, especially a child, there’s so much to do and explore and spend time on, at least I did. But as adulthood hit, and especially after being married I had slowly started to let go of hobbies, unintentionally, there was just “no time”.

The end of 2021 sparked my joy in reading, I swapped a few books with a cousin and put off reading them for weeks till I finally opened up and read When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. And well, that was a total eye opener to so many things, one of the most significant of them being joy! The sheer JOY of reading.

I was able to reconnect with the reader in me, and made me think why I just wasn’t considering it these past years. I was reading, but strictly only fiction, my mind was made up that fiction is useless and a waste of time. Only non-fiction is the real deal, but they can be heavy, and no academic book can relax anyone! More introspection made me realise few things:

1. Making time to read it is not that big a deal. If you enjoy a book you will take time out. The enjoyment out of a hobby, no matter what it is, will drive you to ensure you plan time for it.
2. There are cheaper places to buy books. Book Fairs, book swaps, second hand books, books sold online in bundles etc. I have been able to discover some nice online stores over the course of the year.
3. Reading more means less time reading, yes! When the speed increases, you read faster. Which means you could read fewer books in less time or add more books and capitalize on the speed!
4. Setting a challenge and building a community can really elevate the experience.
5. There’s no need to feel guilty about investing or spending on a hobby. I realized I’m not someone that spends on myself.

So in 2022, I thought it’s time to set up a challenge on my goodreads account. It was my first time, so I did the math and thought 22 in 2022 seemed doable. The idea was not to finish the books, the idea was to find more motivation to read through the challenge. My reading challenge deserves a full blogpost of its own, but in this blog I just want to focus on the importance of hobbies.

I feel at a loss for missing out on the many books I could have read over the last decade or so, I also feel like if I can accommodate one hobby, I can accommodate more! So I am thinking of exploring the art that I used to enjoy when I was younger too. Really as children we know what pleases us more, as adults we become too calculative with our decisions and may actually make decisions that aren’t good for us in the long term.

So, here’s to hobbies, loving them, encouraging them and cultivating new ones. I am making a conscious effort to encourage anyone I meet with their hobbies. Life is already filled with so many ups and down, and having that space to let-go and in tune with yourself is so important.