As a fourth-year undergraduate student, I find myself both reminiscing about my childhood and restlessly wondering about what my future holds. To avoid grappling with being present in the moment and enjoying my path as I go, I lean into my hobbies. Hobbies are a significant part of managing both mental and physical health for many people because they elevate our self-esteem, allow us to interact with the world and help us maintain a sense of control in our lives.
However, as we navigate the different phases of life, hobbies inevitably undergo transformations due to shifting priorities, responsibilities, environments and physical abilities. In my opinion, these transformations can be difficult, given the fact that competitive hobbies often become intertwined with our identities in our teenage years, and are then transitioned or lost entirely in university. I have aimed to explore how some of my friends and family members, along with myself, have allowed our playful pursuits from childhoods to develop into lifelong loves.
Childhood: Playful Pursuits
In my experience, childhood was a time when I was able to explore and develop foundations in skills that would eventually become my chosen competitive hobbies. Upon chatting with my friends, they express that they had similar experiences, focused on fun and learning – how to catch and throw, skate, kick a ball, play the piano, the violin, or the guitar. Hobbies, at this time, also allowed us to “make friends and help develop social skills.”
The Teenage Years: Identity and Competitiveness
As I ventured into my teenage years, I found myself feeling insecure in my body through puberty. Hobbies became particularly important, seeing as they allowed me to feel competent at something and maintain a sense of community. I was never extremely involved in competitive sports, but I worked hard in my music pursuits and began to tie a great deal of my identity to my hobbies. My friends and family have expressed similar ideas – one became a competitive figure skater and another a fantastic soccer player. One of my friends found the teenage years to be a challenging time for her hobbies. “I felt that as the pressure and competitive aspects increased, I lost some of the love I had for sport. I felt like if I had an off day, that this was the end of the world. My hobbies became my identity,” they told me. Another friend struggled with the idea of having to give up some hobbies to become competitive in one thing.
University: Time Management
My hobbies completely transformed as I entered university and experienced the pandemic. I lost touch with my music groups, and in fact completely stopped playing my cello for over a year. My academic goals outweighed the competitive aspects of my hobbies. At a certain point, I felt that there was something missing in my life and I was struggling with my mental health. This is when my relationship with music transformed – I love to play for personal enjoyment and for my friends and family during holiday seasons. I feel a sense of calm and competency when I play music. I am no longer pressuring myself to be the best nor to be a professional musician.
Interestingly, my friends have also felt their hobbies transform through university. For example, my friend who is a figure skater, now has a love for coaching the sport. It certainly can be challenging to find a balance between studies and hobbies as our priorities shift but I believe in the importance of finding ways to keep my passions alive.
Adulthood: Lifelong Loves and Navigating Body Changes
I have not yet entered this phase of my life, so I reached out to some of my family members to explain to me what their hobbies look like now, as they are busy in their professional lives, or as they retire and navigate their changing bodies. My mom, upon retirement, began paddling competitively as she had when she was younger (and she is incredibly good at it). My dad, busy with work, surfs and spends time mountain biking with friends in his free time. He finds that his hobbies allow him to connect with his community and spend time outdoors which he is very fond of. My grandfather is navigating a changing body, and as a result of this, has endured some frustrations with his hobbies. He cannot move the same way he used to but he inspires me with his lifelong loves – as a previous tennis player, he now plays pickle ball and table tennis to keep his passions alive.
As we evolve, whether it be professionally, academically, or physically, our hobbies evolve. Our journey through the different phases of our lives symbolize growth, resilience and the power of our passions.