I recently had a conversation with a co-worker, who asked me, “What do you do for fun?” In hindsight, the question was simple and generally used as an ice breaker to get to know each other better. However, I found myself a bit thrown off because, up until that point, no one had ever asked me about my hobbies, and thus I never had an answer to give. I was almost scrambling to think of anything at all. In the end, it had me thinking, outside of my career and education, both in architecture, city planning, and design: What are my hobbies, what is “fun” for me?
The question left me stumped for days, arguably taking up more space in my mind than anything else I had going on at the moment. I like to think I enjoy reading, listening to music, and writing (obviously), but don’t most people? These things all make up more of my routine though, at least in my opinion, than actual activities I put aside for the means of “fun” or wanting to waste some time. I wouldn’t say these are hobbies, in the same way I wouldn’t say walking is my hobby; they’re just part of my life at this point, none bringing me an insane amount of serotonin, although I enjoy doing them. And so I was left confused. What are my hobbies? I don’t spend all my days in a classroom, so what is it that I do in my free time?
After what felt like hundreds of days thinking over this question, I finally reached an answer: my hobbies are my career and education. Growing up, my hobbies were constructing homes and cities out of LEGO and my imagination. By middle school, I hacked my computer into having a smooth-running version of The Sims while constructing dwellings out of leftover cardboard boxes. And in high school, I played with AutoCAD outside of school. To me, designing anything brought me excitement and joy, both inside and outside the classroom. One could say my free time and my class time mix together, because my career mixes with my hobbies, whether on purpose or accidentally.
To be frank, designing was and is all I really know. My family is full of construction workers, architects, and planners. My dad himself took me to his work sites and let me play around with his blueprints. I even knew how to create blueprints before I learned how to read, if we’re being completely honest. Architects, engineers, construction, and designers were all such common words in my household that it’s no surprise I turned out to be one. Strangely, you could say I nepotized my way into the field, with my first unofficial internship at my dad’s company when I was still potty training.
Even today, my dad still sends me pictures of his site plans and every time I get them, I spend a good amount of time just reading them or interpreting them with my own eyes. When I go home, he’ll ask if I saw any cool buildings or if the construction around me is finally finished. I’ll ask him if he saw this or that exhibition go up, or blab for the hundredth time about how Frank Gehry is so Los Angeles. It’s ironic now how I couldn’t come up with any hobbies, when I speak so much about architecture with anyone who will listen.
Now, when people ask about my hobbies, I’m so eager to say my career field, something that truly is such a privilege. However, to me, my career is nothing more than a hobby that just happens to be what I choose to do with my life. Obviously, there are days when I’d rather not superglue my finger to cardboard or spend hours sketching the same street section. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say 89% of the time I’m truly having fun. Having fun talking about my hatred for Le Corbusier, showing off my sketches, reading Architectural Digest, or planning my next fieldwork trip.