The Power of Hobbies
During my recent watch of What We Said podcast, I went back to an older episode with influencer and podcaster (and more titles; she wears many hats) Kenzie Elizabeth titled The Feminine Urge to Try Everything. Hosts Jaci and Chelsey spoke to Kenzie about how having multiple hobbies and how that greatly enhances her life.
In a National Geographic article written by Hicks Wogan, Wogan explained how during a study that was taken place over multiple countries, they found that those who had hobbies showed greater signs of health and life satisfaction. I would be inclined to believe this, seeing as how my recent bed rotting has me losing brain cells by the millisecond. That, and like what? Am I smarter than National Geographic?
I won’t even get started (for now) on how hobbies can build community, foster beautiful relationships with the women in your life (stop, I’ll cry), or even just create a sense of self, but rather tell you what hobbies I have taken up and what ones I am hoping to venture into.
1. Baking
Listen, I won’t sit here and say I am the best baker, or even good at anything I am listing. Also, it can be the most frustrating hobby because baking truly is a science but it is one of the most rewarding feelings when you end up with something beautiful. The baking can just be for you, or you can have the joy of sharing everything you make with the people you love. We live in the day of age where baking content is at the tip of our fingers. Personally, I am a visual learner and I understand things most when I am watching them, so TikTok is a great source for recipes I find. Recently I have been wanting to go more old school after reading Ina Garten’s memoir and watch old episodes of her and Martha’s shows.
2. Reading
Call it escapism, call it me being obsessed with meeting my reading goal, I do not care. Reading has been the longest hobby I have had starting when I was a kid. Though, The BFG doesn’t have the sexual tension some of my books do now, the love for reading is all the same. I am a firm believer that if someone doesn’t like reading, they just haven’t found the right book. If you are seeing a high amount of “booktokers” say they are on their 40th book of the year, don’t let that discourage you as that is not the norm. One book a year VS zero a year is still an improvement. I desperately want to start a book club and maybe I will just have to take the initiative to make one.
3. Working Out/Running
EVERYONE seems to be running these days and, ew, I seem to be one of them. I can’t tell if I have cardio induced asthma or if I am just truly out of shape, but either way finishing a run is one of the best feelings and seeing one NYC marathon TikTok has me nearly signing up for the 26.2 mile run. Nearly. Similarly to what I said above about reading, people on the internet can make it seem daunting based off of their experience and mileage they clock, but it doesn’t have to be. I simply cannot disclose my mile time, but just know I am no @brettsbites and I still try to get myself to get outside to run.
When I am not running, I do love traditional weight training and would say that is the form of exercise I do the most. I also love spin and think it can be so fun with the right music and knowing when to go at your own pace. Some gyms offer free classes with a gym, so it may be more accessible than you think. My gym does so that way I don’t have to shell out $30 per class.
I am beyond interested in learning how to knit/sew, and kind of in the realm of baking, I would love to learn how to make sourdough bread. If anyone happens to stumble upon this, I would love some sources on either hobby!