I have been thinking of writing a blog post on this topic for some time, and the idea for it is something I really owe to my boyfriend. Before I met him, I will admit I was pretty self-centred! Now, this isn't TOTALLY a bad quality; I focused my life very much on myself and my work (being a violinist). I filled my days with music and learning as much as I could, to be the best that I could be. This may sound alright, and I don't regret it, but I actually lived quite a narrow-minded life. I never really did anything else, I had no friends who weren't like me, I didn't know about other things that life has to offer.
When I met my boyfriend (who is not a musician), I was suddenly awakened to a whole new world; I started listening to different types of music which I had never heard of and found that I loved, I watched different kinds of movies, started doing different kinds of activities and hanging out with all sorts of different people who have become good friends, and spending my free days entirely differently. My boyfriend is constantly getting into new hobbies and interests; he likes to brew beer, go hiking, build kitchen gadgets, cook experimental recipes, test analogue photography, set up his typewriter... For each new idea, he researches it a lot in detail, plans it, puts it into action, and I love to watch how the whole process brings him so much happiness and energy! I have to say that this lifestyle has really rubbed off on me.
For a while I actually felt quite envious of him; I felt like I had one thing that I could do - my music - and nothing else. I desperately wanted a new hobby and thought for ages about what it could be. I think that, as I had never thought this way before, it was actually quite difficult to get the ball rolling with ideas. I read through so many blogs on the internet with hobby suggestions and nothing appealed. I started thinking about what makes me really happy in my day-to-day life, what I love to do and what I am good at, and thus this blog was born!
My blog has given me SO much joy, and has helped me in so many personal ways. I love to write, I love to talk about my experiences and my memories, and I love to interact with other bloggers and read other blogs too. It was funny then, because once I started the blog, I discovered so many other interests of mine and have started up lots more hobbies since; I love to read, travel, take pictures, write reviews, go vintage shopping, write about my thoughts... And, as of today, a new one: mixology! I love to drink cocktails (and I will admit I have been a little inspired from watching the TV series, 'Mad Men' - set in New York in the 60s where they are constantly mixing Old Fashioned's!), and I have just bought a great book which has pretty much every cocktail recipe you could imagine in it, so I am looking forward to getting started.
I thought that now would be a good time to write this blog post, as my cocktail book has just been delivered, and I am feeling that wonderful buzz in my tummy that comes with starting a new hobby! I am excited, I don't know where this will go - maybe I will lose interest in a couple of weeks - but it doesn't matter! I have realised how IMPORTANT it is to have hobbies that are nothing to do with your regular work. They are fun and refreshing, you learn things, you become a more interesting person for them and I can honestly say that they bring a lot of happiness. I know that for me, I wish someone could have told me this a few years ago when I was in a familiar slump with my work. If you are feeling like that, or just feeling bored and uninspired by life, I really recommend just trying something new, and it will actually have a positive impact on your work and in other areas of your life too. It could be anything - going for walks, trying something arty and crafty like a DIY, photography, cooking, blogging! You don't have to be an expert at it, or even good at it, it's just about trying new things and loving it!
Labels: Thoughts
