tell me about your hobbies :>

[xSuperMario64x]

what kinds of hobbies do you have? I want to hear all about them!

I'll go first:

☆ Music: I'll get this one out of the way first since it's less of a hobby and more of a profession. I've been playing piano since I was 6 years old (I'm 22 now so do the math) and I like doing lots of creative things with music. I like messing around with music making programs (I just recently learned how to use Famitracker to make NES music) and I'm a pro at transcribing music. I also like to just play songs that I love I've played (piano and trombone) in multiple ensembles and I'm hoping to perform with the symphony I'm currently interning with soon! my favorite music genres are synthwave, 80s pop/soft rock, and 60s-90s country, and as for classical music I love Brahms and Rachmaninoff <3

☆ Drawing: I think this is the biggest (or should I say, most important) hobby that I have. I've been drawing and coming up with OCs for as long as I can remember. I have a toyhou.se account with 70+ different characters that I've created over the last fifteen or so years. I'm hoping to get to a point where I can start doing freelance art and taking commissions on a regular basis. Until then I'm spending much of my free time doing drawings of my many characters and just generally having a fun time with it. my favorite things to draw are animals, anthro/furries, and Super Mario and Animal Crossing fan art :>

☆ Video Games: this one is a given considering I've been a core Nintendo fanboy since around 2008, and the Super Mario series has been one of my special interests since 2011. oddly enough, when I was a kid I never really played Nintendo games (we only had a PS1/2 and an Xbox) but I have memories of playing the NES and N64 at a friend's house when I was really young. ever since I got my own NES/SNES/N64 back in 2010 I've been hooked on them. I don't actually play games as much as I like delving into the games' lore and characters (some games I like purely for the lore/characters, like TF2) but I particularly love collectathons like Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Spongebob Battle for Bikini Bottom, and Spyro!

☆ Plastic Canvas/Cross-Stitch: this is actually a hobby I picked up back in September, I've been wanting to try my hand at it for a while cause my mom used to do cross-stitches as a kid and I've always thought they were really cute. It's quite a time-consuming hobby but it's a nice light activity to do when I'm on standby or need to focus on something (aka if you need something to keep your hands busy while you focus then cross-stitching is perfect). It's also relatively inexpensive for the amount of time you spend working on each project and the size/quality. plastic canvas is somewhat easier, it's a similar concept but on a slightly larger scale and I've already made myself a mousepad and a 3DS case that looks like an NES controller (made my own pattern and everything)! I need to build up my yarn collection but I would like to start making boxes and tissue box covers with cool designs on them.

☆ Tie-dye: I would love to do this hobby more but it's a bit expensive so I find myself only being able to make about 4-5 shirts per year. I'm hoping that if I can get a job I can afford to get more supplies. I really enjoy making tie-dye shirts and I've made quite a few interesting ones (I actually have a thread on here to show them off). I would like to try tie-dyeing some pants or a sheet set soon!

☆ Reading/learning about mental health: this came to be once I started to become more aware of my own mental health around my junior year of college, because it was starting to impact my performance in school. I personally deal with a lot of mental health issues, and I'm also autistic/ADHD, so learning about all these things is very interesting to me as it helps me understand myself and others better.

☆ Collecting stuff: one of the biggest autistic moods ever is collecting random specific things. I love collecting figurines, stuffed animals, old technology (mostly 70s-90s stuff like CRT TVs, keyboards, and radios), vinyl records, VHS tapes, NES games, and toy Volkswagens.


tl;dr just read the underlined words lol

 

[Kitsuragi]

i'd say one of my biggest hobbies, next to video games of course, is fashion. i'm not super into high fashion like versace of the sort but i'm much into japanese street fashion. i participate in EGL and would participate more if it werent for the fact that it costs quite a bit of money. its worth the price but i just cant afford to partake more, i only have a few coordinates.

 

[ZeldaCrossing64]

Video games aside, I would say writing and baking! I'm not the best at either, but I find it fun regardless!
I don't really tell people this, but I write fanfiction. What I write about is a secret to everybody. (Zelda reference.) I'm scared that they'll judge me, and if not that then I'm scared that they'll find my works and read 'em. Writing is fun, but what I write is deathly embarrassing. XD
Baking isn't a secret, I do it usually when I'm bored or I realize there's no more junk food in the house. XD I like making brownies the most! Plus I make my family happy 'cause they get a piece of cake from yours truly!

 

[LadyDestani]

Reading: I've been reading practically all my life. My mom read to both me and my brother when we were babies and it's something that stuck with me. I will always enjoy a good book. I read a lot of different genres. I love variety. I'll get bored of reading the same type of thing over and over, so I'm always mixing it up. But my favorite genres are classic literature, historical fiction, and fantasy.

Writing: This is a hobby that I haven't been doing too much lately but it's always in the back of my mind. I'd love to get back into writing properly. I've enjoyed writing ever since I was a child. I liked writing papers and essays for school. I branched into short stories and poetry and had a lot of fun with that. I've tried writing novels a few times, but apparently I lack the discipline for that because I never get more than halfway through before I want to write something different.

TV/Anime/Movies: I grouped these all together because they're basically the same thing, me sitting on the couch and watching something. Like with reading, I enjoy a lot of variety in the things I watch. Sometimes I want something light-hearted and fun, sometimes I want action and adventure, and sometimes I want to watch deep, though-provoking, or heart-wrenching stories.

Games: Of course, I love video games. I've been playing them since I was a toddler. Animal Crossing is the game I'm currently the most invested in, but other than that most of my favorite games are puzzle games, fighting games, RPGs, or MMORPGs. Besides video games, I also love board games and card games, but I always have trouble finding people to play those with me.

Animals: I am counting animals as a hobby because I just love being around them. I have owned animals, volunteered at an animal shelter, and worked part-time as a dog trainer. Spending time with animals, whether it involves playing with them or caring for them or just petting them, is so rewarding for me.

Learning/Researching: I love learning new things. If a question pops into my head or if someone asks a question that I don't know the answer to, I'll often start looking it up immediately. As long as I'm doing the research willingly on my own terms, I find it very fun and satisfying to dig around, going from book to book or website to website, until I find my answer.

Collecting: I am also a huge collector. I've collected a variety of things over the years, but my biggest collections are my dolls and my plushies. I also collect figures, anime merchandise, and anything related to sharks since they are my favorite animal.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

@ZeldaCrossing64 @LadyDestani cool to hear both of you guys write! I'm trying to get back into writing fanfics myself, my old ones are so cringey lol xDD

 

[ZeldaCrossing64]

@ZeldaCrossing64 @LadyDestani cool to hear both of you guys write! I'm trying to get back into writing fanfics myself, my old ones are so cringey lol xDD

SUPER SWEET! And I feel ya on the last bit. XD But just remember that your old fics has helped you get better at writing and see yourself grow + improve! And if you published your works, remember that you most likely made some readers happy! ^^

 

[Croconaw]

Hockey: This is, no doubt, my favorite sport. It’s the one sport where I’ll attend games regardless of the teams playing. If I can add a picture to this particular hobby, I have a Quinton Byfield jersey. I had it custom made right after my team drafted. I had someone tell me it’s a bit risky to buy a 19 year old player’s jersey, but I just responded “that’s why I bought it when he was 17, lmao.” I saw him as the future for this franchise, so…

Spoiler: here

Traveling: I love traveling, especially by trains or a bus. I get to see more of the world that way. You can’t see much in the sky surrounded by clouds. I love the longevity of traveling on the ground. There’s something satisfying about being on a moving train for a few days. I won’t lie, it can get boring by the third day, but you learn to enjoy it.

I have a few more smaller interests, including but not limited to baseball, football, and some anime.

 

[.: Meri :.]

Oh gosh, I have... a lot of hobbies. More than I know what to do with sometimes, ahaha. ;v; I've got some more minor interests that I dabble in too, but I'll try and keep this list to the main ones!

Art/Coloring: This is largely what I do for work, so it's not usually my go-to hobby because I do so much of it anyway, but I still like to do art for fun sometimes as well! Forum events are a really good excuse, hehe. Every once in a while I'll try out a painting project, too! Usually though, if I want to do art stuff for fun, I'll do something in a coloring book—that doesn't inspire my inner critic, so it's easy for me to relax while doing. c:

Writing: This is something that I'm working towards making a part of my career, but I do have some projects that are just for fun which will never see the light of day.

Video games: Probably my main hobby at the moment! Getting deeply immersed in a game is really refreshing/therapeutic for me, and I love that sense of progression/accomplishment that's a part of a lot of games. I like quite a few different genres, but JRPGs and otome are big favorites of mine. Not sure how much this counts, per se, but I still really enjoy playing dress-up games sometimes too!

Reading: Mostly manga nowadays, but I read some light novels as well! I love a good story, and reading is definitely kinder on my back and eyes than some of my other hobbies, so I've been trying to do it more often.

Anime: I used to binge a ton of anime in my teen years, and while I still watch some series on my own, I mainly watch anime with my family now. We set aside a little time on weekend mornings to watch some and keep up with the latest One Piece episodes. My mom and I also watch some series together that my dad isn't interested in.

Collecting merch: 90% of what I collect is merch of my comfort characters ahaha, but I also like to collect plushes, especially Pokémon and Alpacasso/Wooly Sheep by Amuse! This can get kinda pricey though, especially when international shipping or proxy service fees come into it. ^^;

Listening to voice dramas/drama CDs: Also mostly related to my comfort characters, but sometimes I'll branch outside of that too. Since my Japanese is far from perfect, I'll also check out fan translations if I can find them to fill in any gaps in my understanding.

Official Art/GFX: I love collecting official/promo art of my interests, and I'm always thrilled when I come across something new or in really nice quality. I have a fairly decent physical collection of official artbooks too! I also like using official art for any online pfps/signatures I make.

Embroidery floss bracelets: I know how to make a couple basic patterns, and it can be something nice to do with my hands, especially if I want to just hang out in a livestream or watch Youtube or the like. Embroidery floss is also nicely cheap, so if I'm missing a certain color or something, it's not too hard for me to get ahold of.

 

[VanitasFan26]

I don't have much hobbies but I'll give some of them.

Music:
I liked to listen to classical music and I don't care about modern music because it sucks.

Games:
I play a lot of games besides Animal Crossing

thats pretty much it.

 

[savanniebananie]

I'd say I have a decent amount of hobbies.

Drawing: I've been drawing since I was in Kindergarten. My art has progressed so far, and I've gotten so much better in the past year or two. It is so relaxing to me.

Music: I've been playing instruments since I was in 6th grade. I began with the trumpet, but I didn't like it very much. After about a year, I moved to the saxophone, which I still play to this day! I love listening to music, also. It helps me relax.

Writing: I LOVE writing. English was my favorite subject in school. I've written so many stories in my life that I can't keep track. Sometimes I'll get lost in my story and write for hours on end.

Reading: Reading is one of my main hobbies. I remember going to the library every summer and doing the summer reading program. I never had a phone, so I spent all of my days reading. I read maybe 20-30 books in one summer. I would read books by Christopher Pike (my all-time favorite author!!)

Watching Crime/Detective Shows: My dream job for the future is to be a detective, and some days, I'll sit in my living room and watch them for hours. I love shows like that so much.

 

[CrankyCupcake]

Here are my too many hobbies summarized. Sort of.

All pictures are my own photographs.

Spoiler: Details if you're curious.

Left to right, top to bottom. I collect tillandsia aka airplants. I've over 60 of them. On the shelves behind, a lot of the consequences of my hobbies! Many books and comics. I like origami and, in particular, modular origami. Very satisfying to learn and create. When I feel like sewing, I design what I want to cross-stitch and then sew it. Sometimes I want to create and sew with felt, so I do that too. That's Trafalgar Law from One Piece. I make accessories like bracelets and rings with beads and crystals. The ferris wheel in Odabai—I love to travel. Seen the pyramids in Egypt, the Great Wall of China and the Blue Mosque in Turkey, among other things. That's J, one of my BJDs. I love to listen to music. Mostly rock. Photography is a great love. I like shooting macro subjects like weaver ants and jumping spiders. That's my PC. I watch anime, read manga and play videogames on it. I love to read and write. That's a page from a self-published novel from years ago. Collecting anime figures is a treat! I talk to them. Sometimes I make ATCs with origami paper. Or I make ink doodles. Doodling is very calming. The coin-sized kitties are polymer clay. I enjoy making all things small and colourful.

 

[Xara]

depression and grief have really disintegrated my passion for my hobbies these past few years, but i’m slowly rediscovering it!

• creating art. this is probably my biggest hobby and the one that i have the most passion for at the moment. i’ve dabbled in art over the years from making a very bad self-portrait in 5th grade to all the art i’ve made for tbt events and contests, but i didn’t really get into it until tbtwc last year. i just had so much fun creating my visual daily cheers for the bellflowers (my tbtwc team) that i just… didn’t stop creating art once the event was over. my art really isn’t all that great, and i’m reluctant to call myself an artist, but i do my best to improve with every piece i make. creating art brings me a lot of joy, and it allows me to get my mind off things that are troubling me. my passion is only for digital art right now, but i’m hoping to start creating traditional art eventually as well.

Spoiler: art examples

these are just a few of the pieces i’m most proud of, but you can find more of my art here.

• reading and writing. writing actually used to be my biggest passion before writer’s block and my sentence and paragraph structure/alignment fixation got in the way, but the latter problem is actually slowly improving (thank god), so i’ve been trying to write a bit more often lately. i’ve only been journaling, since writing about my life is a lot easier than coming up with an idea and words for a story, poem, etc, but i’m taking any form of writing that i do as a win right now. writing has always been therapeutic for me and a way for me to get out thoughts and ideas that i have trouble verbalizing, so i miss doing it a lot. i even wanted to be an author at one point. i mainly write short stories, but i also enjoy writing poems and journaling. i’d really like to write an actual novel one day as well. i’ve had several ideas saved in the notes app on my phone for years, from conversations between characters that don’t yet exist to plots, but no ideas on how to execute them or connect them. hopefully one day i’ll figure it out.

i also love reading, and do it every day! i’ve mostly just been reading fanfics (say what you want, but there’s actually some really good, non-cringey stuff out there) the past year or two, but i have quite a few novel recommendations to sort through and start reading as well! i’m hoping to get on that soon.

• photography. the way my passion for photography kickstarted is pretty embarrassing lol, but when i was younger, i ran a photography instagram account for my lps (littlest pet shop) toys. i’m not sure how best to explain it, but i would go out with my canon camera and a bag of lps + accessories, and i would take pictures of them on flowers, on displays in stores, in piles of leaves during autumn and snow banks during winter, etc. sounds silly, but i managed to amass over 10k followers doing it. i don’t take pictures of lps anymore, but my love for photography still remains. again, i’m not the best at it, but i think i’ve taken some nice shots over the years.

Spoiler: photography examples

YES, i included some of my lps photos because while they’re pretty silly, they’re also pretty freakin’ cute. i was really living my best life back then.

• makeup. i first got into makeup during my first year of high school (2016) and i went ham with it. i didn’t research brands, products, etc, so my first makeup products came from a sale warehouse and, uh… weren’t the best lol. i still remember the first time i used a mascara that came from a brand i actually recognized and that i bought from the drugstore and just going “: o” because the difference was insane. my love for makeup didn’t really bloom until 2018-2019, though. that’s when i started watching videos on youtube for tips, tutorials, product recommendations, etc, because i wanted to be the best i could be. i blew money on recommended products and ones that intrigued me, and overall had a blast with it. i even ran an instagram account for my makeup at one point, but it lasted less than a month since i suck at being an active, interactive, interesting account owner lol. presently, i don’t do my makeup much anymore, but i still love it. my passion is mainly for eyeshadow and doing different eye looks, and i love combining different colours to get different looks. my favourite and go-to eyeshadow colour combo is pink, yellow, orange and purple; makes for a very pretty sunrise/sunset moment.

• collecting stuff. not sure if this really counts as a hobby since i don’t have the financial means to do it often, but i’ll include it anyways lol. when i was younger, i was big on collecting toys (mainly lps and shopkins), but now i’m into collecting phone cases, squishmallows, tokidoki figurines, deer stuff, and random figurines/keychains/etc that i get from blind bags and boxes. admittedly, my collections aren’t very big, but i add to them when i can/feel like it.

• smoking weed. …again, not really sure if this counts as a hobby or not, but i’ve been doing it so much lately that it honestly should.

some of my other hobbies/interests include watching tv and movies, talking to my friends, browsing tbt and social media, listening to music, etc.

 

[Alienfish]

Vintage/60-70s aesthetic fashion. Probably started more when I used to work practice in a second hand store some years ago, but I love going to second hand stores or just support small businesses online when I can and they have things I like. I do have everything from tie-dye rainbows to 70s floral shirts and also some real boho fancy dresses.

Johnny's Entertainment.

Spoiler: Long text

I don't know if this is as much as hobby as it's a part of "kawaii" stuff I'm into. Actually this go back as far as 2005-6 I think? I got this book named "Kawaii" by Marita Lindqvist (it's in Swedish and out of print these days so if you get it consider yourself lucky) about the JE fandom, kawaii culture and Japanese society in general (it's from 2004 so it might be a bit old but still interesting to see Japan from someone who actually been there a lot and not writing what people want and think what Japan is). I probably got it cause it was the prime Weeb years in the west and I think the most interesting chapter in this book was about Shonen-ai and how it's part of Japanese society (and Johnny's idols) rather than cute pop boys and cute things or just Japan . My cute pop boy interest was not the largest, I didn't know about Livejournal and naturally much weren't on Youtube, I maybe found one Shonentai song cause I loved the 80s back then and maybe one Tackey & Tsubasa bop at some other place and that was it. I remember Tegomass coming here cause it was on radio but yeah after that all of it kinda fell into oblivion.

Fast forward to 2020 and me working at a library, I started chatting with a co-worker and it turned out she also likes JE, though had other band/artist references aside from Yamapi which we both love, haha. She also gave me her copy of Kawaii cause the one I had were damaged and smelled moldy attic cause it was kept at my dad's house. I started getting into JE again and these days I also have some old merch I ordered online and stuff and I follow some former and current artists on Instagram. It's mostly part of my life rather than a hobby aside from collecting, maybe?

Music. Listening, collecting vinyls/CDs, reading abut it. I've been into a lot of things throughout my life but I kinda landed into 60s-70s psychedelic/folk/protest music aside 60s/some 70s pop. Obviously I do like some JE things as well.

I'd say those are my main interests but I also like drawing, reading, watching movies and some gaming now and then.

 

[SinnerTheCat]

This feels like an exercise for talking about yourself, I need more of those in my life lol

» Art: Well, I've been drawing ever since I was little and even though it became kind of my go-to when talking about my interests, I don't find myself making art as much nowdays. It's probably because every time I start drawing something I feel like it has to be perfect, so I naturally spend a long time on every piece and since my schedule is pretty busy I just simply fear that I won't be able to stop drawing once I start. Graphic design is probably my favourite, but I've been into painting for a bit too. But beside actually making art, I also love going to art museums, analysing art pieces and learning some history and news from the art world!!

» Crocheting: I learned how to crochet from my mom and aunt when I was super small and 2 years ago I picked it up again and omg I fell in love, it's not even funny how much money I spend on crochet hooks and yarn. I'm genuinely surprised how long I was able to keep being interested in it since I get over some of my interests pretty quickly. Most of the time I crochet doilies, tablecloths and table runners, I even sell them sometimes!! Besides that, recently I started trying to crochet clothes for myself, but I still have a long way to go in that department.

» Jewelry: I've always been big on wearing sparkly accessories and ever since I moved out and my family couldn't judge what I wear, I started wearing even more bizzare jewelry which I consider a stample piece of my style. Wearing the weirdest earrings the world has ever seen is my goal for this life lmao Most of the time I make my own jewelry, but I also buy a lot of it from small businesses - I find those the most unique!!

» Clothing: Idk if I can even consider this a hobby, because everyone wears clothes, but creating a great outfit which fits my aesthetic gives me so much happiness. I often go out of my way to wear something unique and colourful, even tho sometimes it attracts too much attention. I love wearing pretty things, I love my clothes, I love creating outfits with them and it compliments my obsession with bizzare jewelry!!

» Chemistry: I mean, I'm studying pharmacy and there's a lot of chemistry here which I honestly love. As much as I curse this subject, I don't think I'd be happier studying anything else. It's so incredibly interesting!! Especially when we learn how to actually apply the knowledge you have in the industry, it all makes so much sense. Even though I have a long way to go, I love learning about medications and, most importantly, about the chemistry behind them.

» Baking: ah yes, my beloved stress hobby, I'm just simply not able to live without it. Baking is something that I can do even when I'm in the most miserable form and afterwards I can enjoy a piece of cake or a muffin which is a win win!! I can also give some of my leftovers to people I love, so it's even better <3

» Makeup: I've been into makeup for a long long time, I used to really go ham with it on my whole face, but nowdays I focus mostly on the eyes. A smudged/blurry eyeliner is almost something I can't leave the house without, I find it fun!! Sometimes at night I try my hand at more complex makeup looks I find on pinterest which is such a great way to make sure I don't become rusty since sometimes for some bigger event I have to put on a more formal and "acceptable" makeup which is not as fun, but oh well. I also used to be far more into skincare, because I used to wear more makeup, but I don't consider it my hobby anymore since I have one set skincare routine for myself which doesn't really change.

» Anime: It has been one of my biggest hobbies ever, I've been religiously following seasonal series ever since middle school, it's almost like a habit now to just watch at least one series every season. It's also something that helped me connect with my brother since he watches a lot of series too!!

» Video games: I've been very into games since pretty much elementary school, but mostly watching someone else play the games (I enjoyed a lot of games through watching my brother play them). Most of the time, I didn't have enough money to buy the most popular games and consoles, but when I really really liked a game that I watched someone else play then I'd buy it and enjoy it for myself. That has always been my way and I genuinely don't find anything wrong with it or that I'm some sort of a fake fan (I have seen a few opinions like that on the internet). The only games that I've been "blindly" buying are nintendo games, they're always so fun and happy and none of the ones I bought were a miss. My most beloved series are fire emblem (I'm obsessed with buying every single limited edition game pack, it's not even funny, my monkey brain goes off when I see the artbooks), the legend of zelda and animal crossing. Besides nintendo games, I generally enjoy framing simulators and platformer games!!

And some smaller hobbies that I really like include: nature documentaries, cooking and swimming

 

[Autumn247]

Music:
I played violin in my schools orchestra in elementary school when I was growing up, then I played some guitar for awhile. Now I've been learning to play ukulele. Here are my two ukuleles, a soprano (the small one), and a tenor, pictured below

Spoiler

Games:
Love videogames, I play a lot of RPGs and simulation games

Reading:
Favorite genre is probably fantasy. I love reading in general though so I like books from pretty much any genre as long as they're good.

Learning Italian
I took an Italian course in a semester in college and really enjoyed it so I have been continuing to study it on my own

 

[CrazyMario64]

here is le me hobbieeess:
Drawing: i have been drawing scince i was a little brat and yet i still cant draw a perfact mario :/

Gaming: beeg mario kirb and animal crossing fan

Meme making: i love memes and making them

Animating: while i cant draw it doesnt mean i cant animate!!!

 

[TheSillyPuppy]

I totally admit I'm a nerd and workaholic so leggo.

Skincare: I'm very fortunate to have good genes. Abstaining from drinking over the last 3–4 years has further helped my skin. Skincare can seem really intimidating, so if you're just starting out, keep things simple with a 1) cleanser, 2) moisturizer, and 3) sunscreen!

Exercise: I grew up physically inactive, other than mandatory physical education in public school. My journey into fitness started when I discovered Blogilates on YouTube. Now, my workout regime consists primarily of lifting weights, doing Pilates, doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and stretching. Discipline and maintaining a routine are integral, not motivation! Find a physical activity you like and it will be much easier to transform exercise into a habit.

Food: I find so much comfort in food. One of my favourite aspects of traveling is exploring new cuisines. There is so much to learn about a culture just from the food. Food is love; food is life.

Music Theatre: I love singing and storytelling, which are at the heart of musicals. I remember being so happy when Hamilton surged in popularity back in 2015, enabling the masses to discover this incredible medium. I've had the pleasure to see The Phantom of the Opera (thrice!), Les Misérables, Once, and Dear Evan Hansen in-person, and my dream is to go to New York for a week and see as many shows as I can. I believe there is a show out there for everyone, no matter your tastes.

Anime: Ironically, I grew up surrounded by folks who loved reading manga, but I didn't get into anime until university. There is so much variety in terms of genre, topics, and stories to be told. My #1 is still Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, but Attack on Titan is such a close second. Other series I'm watching are Re:Zero, Konosuba, Komi Can't Communicate, Beastars, Aggretsuko, Demon Slayer, and My Hero Academia.

Gaming: Like anime, I didn't get into gaming until late in my life in university so I could stop feeling left out of get-togethers where my friends played Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. Since then, I've gotten into Animal Crossing, Monster Hunter: Rise, and Pokémon. Perhaps one day, I'll be brave enough to attempt a game like Hollow Knight.

Reading: I've completed 12 books since the start of 2022. I'm much more of a visual than auditory learner, so books are my preferred learning medium. I also take notes as I read non-fiction so it's easy for me to re-familiarize myself with a book's contents if I ever need to refer back. I retain what I read optimally by applying the theory into my work, so the bulk of the books I've read so far relate to my job and industry!

Spoiler: My 2022 reading log

1. Out of Office by Charlie Warzel and Anne Helen Petersen
2. Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez
3. The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People by Judith Orloff, MD
4. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if you Life Depended on it by Chris Voss
5. High Output Management by Andrew S. Grove
6. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful! by Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter
7. Good Strategy, Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why it Matters by Richard Rumelt
8. Strong Product People: A Complete Guide to Developing Great Product Managers by Petra Wille
9. Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights by Steve Portigal
10. To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink
11. Nice Girls Still Don’t Get the Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make that Sabotage their Careers by Lois P. Frankel, PhD
12. Accelerate: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations - The Science of Lean Software and DevOps by Nicole Forsgren, PhD, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim

Languages: In high school, one of my dream jobs was to be a translator. My goal is to be able to fluently speak five languages. I'm about halfway there with English and Mandarin being my first and second languages, followed by my memory of basic conversational French. My favourite part of learning languages is understanding the logic behind diction and syntax.

Psychology: Another one of my dream jobs was to be a Cognitive Scientist. In university, I took courses in introductory psychology and industrial psychology. My favourite focus areas are motivational psychology and positive psychology.

Mental Health: I'm so glad that the stigma around mental health is gradually being removed. I'm prone to anxious and depressive thoughts. I discovered HealthyGamerGG on YouTube as a junior in college, and Dr. K has taught me so much about the subject and myself. It's helped me become more attuned with and accepting of my thoughts and actions.

Spirituality: Dr. K talks frequently about this subject as well. Continuously refining my sense of purpose in life has helped me deal with existential dread and is cathartic when there are macroscopic traumatic events going on around the world. As much as I believe in and advocate for scientific reasoning, I'm a believer that there are some things in this life and in our universe we will simply not understand.

Product Development: I love working with various specialists to bring a vision to life and into the hands of users to improve their work lives! No two days at work look the same, and it's fun and rewarding to solve complex problems using the intersection between art and science.

Science & Technology: The physical world around us is fascinating, and I've always had an inquisitive mind that asked "why?" about everything. I love applying engineering principles and theory for my job without having to do complicated calculus.

 

[TurnipBell20]

Everyone on here has so many hobbies. Work and other obligations don’t leave that much room for my hobbies.

Music: I like to listen to music, but what I like even more is to make music myself. I love to play the guitar and sing. I want to start writing my own songs in the near future as I think I now have the knowledge and skills required for this. I play acoustic, electric and classical guitar. I play classical most of the time though.

Meeting friends: I like being alone sometimes, but usually I‘ll meet my friends whenever it’s possible.

TV shows: I like watching TV shows, especially older ones. I am currently watching Beverly Hills 90210, and prior to that I watched The Nanny.

Makeup: That is something I kind of want to get into? I can’t call it a hobby yet, but I definitely want to get better at it. I am not a person to wear a lot of makeup usually because it makes me feel less like myself. On the other hand I think it looks pretty and I want to look pretty, lol.

 

[Mimi Cheems]

I have quite a few hobbies.

• WRITING - I have been writing for as long as I can remember. Poetry, fanfictions, original works, you name it. For my senior project, I wrote a novella and everyone loved it. However, looking back I realize I could've done it a lot better. I've progressed so much as a writer over the years. I actually remade a Tumblr blog to upload fanfictions/little blurbs of my favorite MCU characters! I've been getting more into poetry and song-writing, too. Writing will always be my calling, even if I have creative blocks at times. It's something I've always been good at, regardless of how I'm feeling. It comforts me and is my escape.
  
  
• SINGING / SONG-WRITING - I love writing (like I said), and I enjoy writing songs and singing them. Although it never gets far, like publishing/uploading my work, I still love keeping it to myself and revisiting my work when my insecurities get to me. It reminds me that I am very talented with writing of any kind. I used to be in choir for 2+ years but I dropped out because I didn't exactly like the teacher >_> So I lost my touch, sorta. Just gotta keep practicing and get better with it.
  
  
• CROCHETING - This is something I started about a year+ ago but never progressed with it. I only know the basics, and am intimidated to learn more. I feel like it has to be perfect when I'm learning a new stitch or pattern. So it discourages me a lot ;v; However, I enjoy sitting down and crocheting a scarf while I listen to calming music. It really calms me down and keeps my hands busy.
  
  
• TAROT / ASTROLOGY - Recently, in the past year or so, I picked up an interest in astrology. That then transformed into curiosity for learning more about spiritual stuff, like tarot, crystals, etc. I only know the basics of tarot but I am so good with astrology. What are your big 3? Mine are all Pisces! Heh. Sometimes your Moon sign has priority over your Sun sign, I don't remember where I read this, but the Moon sign rules your emotions, intuition, etc. It's more personal than the Sun sign, which could be why most people relate more to their Moon sign over their Sun. Mine are both Pisces, but I do know I heavily resonate with my Pisces Moon over my Pisces Sun. The Houses mean a lot too. My Moon is in the 1st House, along with my Pisces Rising. Pisces Sun is in the 12th House.
  Spoiler: Pisces Moon - 1st House

  The moon rules your emotions, moods, and feelings. This is likely the sign you most think of yourself as, since it reflects your personality when you're alone or deeply comfortable. Your Moon is in Pisces, meaning your emotional self is empathetic, dreamy, sensitive, and gentle. You feel vulnerable much of the time, and desperately wish for a partner who deeply understands you. It's in your first house, meaning you find security and safety through your self and self-image—and, because it's your first house, your Moon in Pisces is hyper-present in your personality.
  Spoiler: Pisces Sun - 12th House

  The sun determines your ego, identity, and "role" in life. It's the core of who you are, and is the sign you're most likely to already know. Your Sun is in Pisces, meaning you are fundamentally dreamy, insightful, and in your own world. You exist on a chaotic plane of the divine that is not at all material. Your rich imagination endows you with a strong intuition for hidden emotional currents. When you take offense it is deeply, and you aren't necessarily interested in reconciliation. It's in your twelfth house, meaning you feel the need to distinguish yourself from others through privacy, secrets, and introspection.
  Spoiler: Pisces Rising - 1st House

  You come across as someone who is compassionate, shy, and a dreamer. You can get lost in daydreams and fantasy easily, and you seem like your head is always in the clouds. At times, it may be difficult for you to understand people clearly, or to be understood clearly, and you can follow what other people say too easily. You need to become more sure of yourself, and know yourself better so you’re not following anyone else. You can be extremely creative and artistic, a visionary to some, and can express yourself emotionally through art. People look to you to be empathic and sensitive.
  
  
• TRAVELING - I looooooooooove traveling. It doesn't even have to be out of the country. I love flying, taking trains! It's so fun. I've been to Boston like 6 times within the past 2 years. I plan on going to Florida this summer, and hopefully Canada sometime soon. ;v;

 

[-Blue-]

I have a lot of different hobbies I jump to. I don't do them all at once, or the same day, or even the same week.

I like to draw and write. I actually have two very long stories that I have been molding for a few years now. I come back to it every now and then when the mood hits. I also draw for those stories I wrote as well as anything else that strikes my interest at the time

Every year I expand my gardens. I have fruit trees, a huge vegetable/fruit garden, and even try to grow fruit/vegetables that shouldn't be able to survive in the climate I am from. But I just want to try and see if I can succeed.

I like to restore antiques. Currently I am tackling a huge project of restoring an antique treasure chest from the 1800s.

I have a bunch of others, but these are the main ones that I have been getting back into recently.