How do you go from having hobbies to being a hobby-less and, let’s face it, boring human? This is the question I have been asking myself as of late.

I have always been active. Not necessarily in terms of physical activity, but that too. I simply mean, I was always busying myself with something or another. When the time came, where I needed to focus on schoolwork, I did. The issue was that I did. I only made time for work. I fell into the pattern of sleep, school, homework, eat, watch tv, and sleep. Rinse and repeat.

I don’t even like TV. I rarely find it engaging, but I watch anyways. I think that I don’t have the bandwidth to do anything else other than sitting and watching something. Here is where I was wrong. I needed to find value-based entertainment. Things that will actually make me a happier and healthier human being.

This is a newfound issue and therefore have very little to offer in terms of a resolution. Last week, I discovered my 2025 goals and I am happy to report that I did every single one of them. I couldn’t have been more proud. This made me particularly more motivated to create and even start on my 2026 goals. I know we are about a month or two early. But you can never be too early, right? Maybe my real goal is to make these goals turn into habits. In that case, no, it’s never too early to start.

One of the goals I created for myself was to find a new favorite book. In that week since setting it, I believe I have achieved it. I scoured the internet for recommendations, and settled on Beartown by Fredrik Backman. This book may have single handedly restored my passion of reading. Might I add, I was not let down by the Goodreads community.

I never hated reading. In fact, I loved it. I just “never had the time”. Which we all know is simply not true, but that’s what I told myself as I would start the fifth episode of the second series I had binge watched that week. Habitually, I read during breaks off of school, but never during the months in between. I was convinced that I would hate reading because I do it “all the time” for classes. No you didn’t. You hardly ever did the assigned readings. 2026 is the year for no excuses. No bullshit. Just the difficult acceptance of the truth.

I used to swim. I don’t swim. I used to bike. I don’t bike. I used to paint. I don’t paint.

How can I return to childhood? Are bringing up hobbies the key? I think so. I want the feeling of fulfillness. I used to feel it all the time. The difference isn’t the time. I probably have similar amounts of time on my hands. It’s the phone. I hate to admit it mom, but you were right. That’s what every parent dreams of hearing, right? I can imagine so, yes. Well, you were right. You were right you were right you were right. It’s the damn phone. It’s the damn technology.

Can we return to the grandma hobbies? The pinpoint, knitting, and gardening. The pre-technological hobbies. The ones that hold value-based entertainment.

This is what I hope for 2026. I want to find my value-based entertainment. Whatever that may be. Whatever that may mean for me. I will be updating on this process. However long it may take. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.