Hobbies are a way to help out with busy schedules, relax and take time away from all the stress. Students are put under pressure to keep up with school everyday. Deadlines, projects, and assignments cause constant worry and anxiety. There are different ways for students to create that balance in their lives, such as hobbies.
Crocheting is a popular hobby, using yarn and a needle to make a certain project. It can be made up of simple patterns, or if more experienced, advanced more rigorous designs. Examples of finished projects could be scarves, blankets, gloves, etc.
¨I like to crochet and bake a lot,¨ sophomore Elizabeth Martir said. “They help me stay relaxed.It’s mostly because I can just tune out the rest of the world from the chaos of school and sports. It’s just for fun really, and it helps balance my stress.”
For some, a hobby is creating something physical such as crochet or baking, but for others it can just be expressing a passion of theirs. It’s a way to express themselves and what they love.
“I really like singing,” Sophomore Victoria Combs said. ”I’m in two different choirs [and] I do it for multiple hours every day or for fun whenever I can. I’ve been singing since I was a kid and it’s just always been something I’ve loved doing. I can’t remember a single moment when I wasn’t singing.”
Another way students can participate in a hobby is a sport. Physically challenging the body to perform for a team or sport can take the mind off of school work and stress. Furthermore, building a team bond can create new friendships and open up social life additionally adding more balance.
“I do cheer, it’s a very prominent part in my life and something I really like to do.” Combs said. “With cheer, I didn’t realize I’d like it so much until my sister did it and I need[ed] a PE credit. Then I did it and started being a cheer manager. It was just really fun and I just fell in love with it. I did volleyball and track in 7th and 8th grade. They were a way to express myself physically as opposed to how I would with singing. It was great, but it would’ve been a lot on my schedule for my freshman year, and with choir my sophomore year. It just wasn’t something that I was able to carry over into high school.”
Finding ways to carry over the balance between school life and out of school life can be challenging, but finding time and hobbies for yourself can help out to create better stability.
“My hobbies really do help me balance my schedule,” Combs said. “I feel like I’m taking a lot of work intensive classes this year and it’s only going to get worse next year. All of my hobbies are just a break from everything, it’s just like a way for me to have fun and be productive while learning a whole bunch of life skills, it definitely is a really good break.”
