I just have too many hobbies!
I was always a shy kid, but I wasn’t often embarrassed by the things that made me, me. I always loved whimsy and had an endless amount of wonder for all the things around me. I wasn’t ever the kid who needed to be entertained. I got enough of that by learning the world around me. One of my favorite things to do was lie down on our trampoline and watch the clouds, the birds, and the breeze. I liked the way the wind felt, and the way it made sunlight dance.
This vast amount of amazement for the mundane poured out into whatever I was able to do. The main method naturally became through art. Both of my grandmothers were artists, and many a joke was made about art running through my veins. It was truly anything that allowed me to be creative. I would borrow my mom's camera to take pictures of the flowers after it rained; I had an origami phase; sidewalk chalk, of course; I learned to sew; I played with felt; I would make tiny birds with air-dry clay or make boats out of styrofoam and tin foil. Anything I could make, I would.
As it happens, when kids grow up, I let myself loose it. I started to get embarrassed for what used to make my life exciting. I started to feel silly for liking art so I pushed it down and hoped I could keep it to myself. I still did art through high school but I hated to talk about it, and hated even more showing people what I made. That was the most I indulged until later in college when I started to miss who I used to be.
I started to embrace my roots but still had this looming insecurity that my many interests were perceived as indecision. I still would lean away from things I thought weren’t as relatable or relevant. The less I cared about the way I looked and more about how it made me feel, the more I was able to embrace even my grandma-y-est hobbies. I can see them as opportunities learn, teach, or experience. With all of this, I needed somewhere to visually collect my million and one hobbies. Somewhere that would help me feel more productive and give me one more creative outlet (like I didn’t need enough already).
That brings is to Grace Just Blogs, the perfect little space for me to put all my accomplishments, failures, and everything in between.