There was a point during quarantine where I felt like I had so much time to do whatever I wanted, but I never knew what to do. Being stuck at home wasn’t ideal, but the added layer of realizing I had so much time by myself was overwhelming. I didn’t know how to be comfortable with my own company, but I told myself that quarantine could be a time for me to really be in tune with myself. I felt like one of the ways I could do that was by working on a hobby. I never realized that it would be such a helpful journey.
Around May of 2020, I was really at a point where I was eager to figure out what I would like to do as a long-term hobby. My mom recommended that I should try to crochet with whatever yarn we had in the house, and in the beginning, I didn’t really feel anything about it. For a few days, I was getting used to the feeling of making stitches by working on mini swatches. Even though I didn’t feel much about it at that moment, I thought that maybe if I stuck with it enough, it would eventually lead to something much more rewarding.
I decided to create a goal for myself to work on a cardigan, but the process surprisingly ended up becoming an experience of self-care instead of just finding a hobby or exploring my love for clothes. I started working on the cardigan right when the fall semester of 2020 started. That’s when I was getting adjusted to school being online and getting used to the idea that my sophomore year was definitely not going to be what I expected. I found myself thinking negatively at times about the whole situation, but crocheting helped me get through the negative feelings I was facing.
As I was making those stitches and working on swatches for the cardigan, I noticed it almost felt like I was meditating. Crocheting became something to focus on as I was dealing with my emotions and feelings. It kept me grounded as I was learning how to be more comfortable with myself. It became an outlet for me to be mindful, which made me feel more at peace. I was working on my self-growth as I was crocheting, and that became the most rewarding part of this entire experience.
After quarantine, crocheting is still something that I do whenever I want to take care of myself. Whenever something is bothering me, I can always count on crocheting to help me with the process of facing my emotions. Crocheting taught me that self-care can occur in many unexpected ways. A hobby became one of my forms of self-care. If you are trying to find ways of being more mindful or just loving yourself a bit more, I highly recommend doing anything that at least slightly interests you. In the beginning, it might be hard to figure out whether you want to do something as a hobby, but it might turn into something that can really help you in the long run.
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