Have you ever been asked, “What do you like to do for fun?” and been at an utter loss for words? Your scrambled mind, somehow miraculously forgetting everything you’ve ever done for enjoyment, most likely responding with some variation of a generic answer along the lines of “going out, listening to music, hanging out with friends” —none of which speak to your personality or character.
In our childhoods, it was natural to have casual hobbies that filled up our free time; from playing a sport or an instrument to making friendship bracelets and running slime businesses. As we’ve grown up alongside the evolution of technology, phones have replaced much of the time we used to spend on activities. As busy college students preoccupied with countless commitments on a daily basis, the truth for many of us is that the comforting trap of doomscrolling has become our main form of entertainment after a long day. Even watching TV or a movie can feel like a chore when short-form videos on social media are just dopamine-filling enough for our shortening attention spans.
In this digitized age, everyone is consuming the same exact media online, which makes it hard to differentiate ourselves from one another. There’s no denying the fun of bonding with others over a shared awareness of the latest Internet scandal or a niche video, but we need to face the harsh reality that it is making us all the same person in the long run. Trends encourage us to all dress, look, and behave the same way. Hobbies, on the other hand, are unique to us and are activities that we do for ourselves rather than for anything external. We are in a drought of hobbies nowadays, and I believe that bringing hobbies back can benefit anyone looking to become the best version of themselves—a more well-rounded and most importantly, authentic you.
RECONNECT WITH YOUR CHILDHOOD SELF
The best way to discover your niche hobbies is to dig deep into your past and remember the things you loved the most when you were younger. As a child, I was artsy and creative, and I spent my time doing hands-on activities like painting, drawing, and making crafts. I mostly lost touch with these interests as I grew up, letting my old paint tubes and brushes collect dust in the depths of my closet.
This past summer, I spontaneously decided to reconnect with my childhood love for art. I’m not sure if it stemmed from deep midsummer boredom or from the bittersweet nostalgia of turning eighteen and preparing to move away from home for the first time. I started by making small crafts for my freshman-year dorm, like name pennants for my roommates and a customized bulletin board, and then gradually returned to painting for fun, the way I used to. It not only gave me something to do that wasn’t getting caught in a boredom spiral on social media, but it also brought back a part of me that I had forgotten. Doing something so inherently central to my formative years refreshed me and made me feel more connected to my identity than ever.
REFRAME YOUR EXTRACURRICULARS
Another one of my hobbies that had its roots in my youth is reading and writing. English was always my favorite subject in school; I had my nose stuck in a book as soon as my four-year-old self learned to read, and I used my imagination to create fictional worlds and stories. In high school, once I had recognized my talent and passion for writing, I honed in on these skills through extracurricular activities by joining my school’s journalism program and interning for the local newspaper.
Although my love for writing never faltered, I realized I wasn’t writing in my free time as much anymore because so much of my energy was going into the work I was doing for these other outlets. It feels strange to admit, but as dreadful as the college application process was, the long hours of personal essay writing actually reintroduced me to creative writing and encouraged me to start writing for myself again—through essays, poems, or even just journaling in my Notes app. I realized that even though I was technically employed for my writing ability, nothing was stopping me from writing simply because I wanted to, even if no one else would be reading it.
I’m all for turning your passions and interests into something productive that looks nice on your resume, but it can also be easy to get caught up in the external benefits that side hustles can offer rather than focusing on the intrinsic value of things that bring you joy. Reframe your mindset on the commitments in your everyday life that aren’t primarily for fun purposes, such as a sport or an internship, and focus on why you chose that particular activity in the first place, and how it makes you happy.
HOBBIES ≠ TALENTS
Although it’s comfortably rewarding to pursue something you’re naturally good at for profit, the essence of hobbies is that you don’t have to do them; you should want to. You have free will and the potential to choose exactly how you want to spend the 24 hours of your day, and that means spending your free time doing something that you genuinely get excited about—even if you aren’t necessarily good at it.
For instance, one of my all-time favorite hobbies is baking. I love cooking as well, but the thing about baking that makes it more meaningful to me is the precision that it requires, allowing me to use my attention to detail to its advantage. Would I be able to bake something without using a recipe? No, probably not. But it doesn’t matter, because I don’t have to be good at something to gain the stress relief, improved mood, and sense of purpose that I get out of doing something I truly love. Spend your free time doing something that actually excites you and that you look forward to, even if you don’t have full confidence in your ability.
The next time someone asks you what you do in your free time, prepare something unique to yourself to say that differentiates you from the rest. It doesn’t have to be the most interesting or niche hobby that makes you seem cool; it can be as simple as one of my “grandma hobbies” like reading and baking. The importance of personal hobbies is that they ground us with who we are to our core and bring out our best qualities, helping to shape the raw authenticity that makes us more confident as individuals and more memorable to others. Hobbies give us the opportunity to choose something purely for ourselves rather than something external, helping to develop a strong sense of self that is essential to growing as an adult.