Living A Boring [Internet] Life
At least by *modern* standards my life is boring. And it's legit my biggest flex. I never meant to become an influencer. That was an entire accident. Influencer wasn't even a career choice back then. Or a word. Over a decade ago, I started a homeschool blog just sharing our journey & adventures to maybe three readers on the World Wide Web.
Then came instagram and that got big. Another accident. I remember the OG Insta days in 2009 when it was awesome and fringe. Terrible filters while trying to be artsy in an attempt to land on the main feed page. No one was trying to actually impress people with their fake interesting lives in perfectly cleaned up squares...I just wanted to help other homeschool mamas. Didn't realize it would turn into a full-time job.
What do boring people do for fun if not scrolling & posting to social media? Whatever we want. My favorite pastime is rediscovering long abandoned hobbies and then NOT posting it for others to judge or validate.
I am totally not adding a disclaimer here about the internet having its pros and cons. I wish it would implode, to be honest.
My hobbies aren't boring to me and they work wonders on my mental health which in turn benefits my family. Everyone is winning here.
Hobbies I Enjoy
- Going on Bike Rides - With my hubby, by myself, on the beach, with the kids, to the park, to get groceries, to go fast, to get sunlight and fresh air. I LOVE riding my bike.
- Painting/Sketching - I like to have a travel set for painting at a park or the beach or in my bed. I'm not an incredible artist but no one improves without frequent practice.
- Reading - I own enough books to literally open a library. I believe last count was around 2k books. Which happens to be more than enough to entertain all of us through the collapse of the internet, incidentally. I prefer classics and non-fiction.
- Journaling - Art journaling, scrapbooking, memory keeping, copywork of quotes and passages from any and every book.
- Film Photography - New Old hobby. One that I had and have rediscovered through vintage film camera collecting [which is a separate hobby much like collecting books while I still have many to complete on my TBR]
- Shelling - More precise : sea glass & shark tooth hunting but pretty or unique shells as well.
- Surfing - I love that I will be able to have more time to surf this summer now that my health has greatly improved and I am no longer bed-ridden.
- Rearranging the House - I just randomly move stuff around the house to try out different decor options. It's fun and it's free!
- Support Local Economy - Trying new local restaurants with my hubby is one we started when we first moved to the small beach town we live in and we still do this six years later. We also bike to local owned shops and window shop to see what's new!
- Festivals - Our town has a lot of local free festivals and even though they're all basically the same, we really enjoy going anyway! There are surf competitions to watch, food trucks, face painting, usually some kind of 5k or paddle boarding thing. I love it here.
- Collecting Old School Tech - iPod, Walkman, Vinyl Records, CDs, VHS Tapes, DVDs. We are moving away from streaming these services and actually OWNING our music and movies. We are rebelling against the whole "you will own nothing and love it." We refuse.
- Listening to Music - Sing and dance around the house! Introduce my kids to some new old music and talk about it!
- Just Sitting on the Beach - Stillness. Quiet. Rhythmic Waves. Prayer time out in nature is honestly the best. I love listening to the birds...I can hear God more clearly this way. I can put on His cloak of peace more readily. 10/10 Highly recommend.
I don't do every single hobby daily. I have the same limited time you have and every day has a bit of its own flavor. I just pick one or two and do that.
Hobbies I Would Like to Do a Little More or Try Again
- Knitting & Crocheting - Actually finish a project.
- Cross Stitching & Hand Embroidery - I miss doing this
- Sewing - I never learned
- Make Sourdough Bread
- Scuba Diving
- Play Ukulele - It's been awhile and I want to know how to play WELL.
What hobbies do you like to do or what hobbies would you like to pick up again or for the first time?
keep it simple, mamas. pax & aloha,
Jane
I’m going back to owning CDs and DVDs again as well. I like tangible things I can hold with my own hands. I want to get a milk cow as a new hobby. I want to make sourdough again.
ReplyDeleteI regret throwing everything out in my severe minimalist phase lol. It ended up costing us more money replacing things we were actually using. *facepalm*
ReplyDeleteA milk cow would be amazing! I really need to get on the sourdough thing since my kids like it! I did sign up for a local class on a waitlist to join the next sourdough making class. I think it'll be fun!