What a difficult question.

What is a hobby?

Google defines it as “an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure.” Key word: regularly. But how often is “regularly”? Does that mean I have to do it every day to be considered a hobby? Or a few times a week? Or just several times a month? 

While my friends would share about their knitting obsessions or bring their freshly home baked goods to class, I felt like there was nothing constant for me. Some of my peers took piano lessons daily and others have read almost every book under the sun. Knitting, baking, piano, reading – I’ve tried them all. Yet, I would not consider myself a current hobbyist of any.

For me, hobbies happen in waves.

For two weeks, when I was nine, I fell into a rubix cube phase. I would come home from school, watch YouTube tutorials on strategies to solve a rubix cube, and practice for hours until I hit my personal record of 24 seconds. Impressive, right? Maybe, but this “hobby” cost my parents hundreds of dollars (for the purchase of the insanely crafted rubix cubes that were impossible to solve but sat beautifully on my dresser display), just to be dropped two weeks later.

At fifteen, I reached a rollerblading phase. Every day meant conquering a new move or unique path in the park. My dad and I rode for hours, falling into deep conversations while improving our craft. Today, when the weather is nice, I can hear my dad opening the cabinet with our rollerblading gear and yelling “I’ll be back in an hour!” while I stay at home. 

Before I left for college, I was in a puzzling phase. The few weeks of summer consisted of ½ x ½ inch puzzle pieces scattered across the coffee table (and inadvertently the floor), empty mod podge bottles, and frames. So many frames. At one point, I was finishing 1000 piece puzzles in mere hours, strictly following the border, color categorization method. I used the mod podge to seal the pieces together before I squeezed them into frames to hang on the “puzzle wall” in my basement. Yet, when my college friends were doing puzzles the other day, I sat and watched, with no interest in joining.

What about the gaps between phases?

How about the times when I was not caught up in a phase – the days I lacked a “designated” hobby? What would I answer then? Could I respond with the hobby phases that I took on months ago?

I realize now that answering, “I don’t have any hobbies at the moment,” is okay. Hobbies are ever changing. The gaps between hobbies can mean a direct focus on something else in life, like school or family. Lacking a hobby does not mean lacking interest or motivation. It simply means a redirection of focus.

What is a hobby?

I return to this question with new insight. Losing interest is normal. Craving variety is normal. Hobby phases are normal. People are under the impression that qualifying an activity as a hobby means something constant. Yet I have crafted my own definition. Hobbies are temporary. Do you like doing the same things as when you were ten years old? Probably not, unless you’re some aspiring musician or D1 athlete. Instead, hobbies are what you like doing at the moment. They can include things you’ve only done for a few days or activities you’ve been practicing for months. As these phases pass, your hobby account expands. 

I can still solve a rubix cube, rollerblade in the park, and complete a 1000 piece puzzle. Sure, it might take me longer, but hobbies stick with you even after you try to throw them away. 

I look at life with variety.

I look at hobbies as catalysts for growth. People emphasize having a main focus instead of stretching yourself out too thin and being a jack of all trades. In certain aspects, I agree. However, stretching yourself out is important to find your main focus. You need to try before you rule out an option and make your final decision.

This last year has been my “stretching out” phase with business. I have tried everything from a quick money making side hustle doing online surveys to designing and selling laptop decals on Etsy Marketplace. And I am still searching for that main focus that will stick. Yet, I am able to take away everything I have learned from my past side hustles and implement those lessons into my next. Similar to hobbies, these skills fit under an umbrella – one that I will take with me for both the sunny and rainy days ahead.