The interests I've collected along the way

"A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away" — Phyllis McGinley

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What is a hobby? I looked up some definitions, and to sum it up, a hobby can be defined as an activity one might pursue in one's free time, with merely the pleasure it gives as the motivation and the reward. Some of our pursuits might start as hobbies, but I've read interesting stories about people that have gained financial freedom through the enjoyment of their hobbies. ^{Crypto-trading, anyone?} Today, I'll tell you about some of the activities I have been pursuing for years. I consider them my hobbies because of the immense pleasure I get from engaging in them.

This post responds to yet another amazing weekly topic, proposed by Galen for the Weekend Engagement. You can find the original post, containing all the prompts and rules, here. If you're reading this and haven't participated, kindly allow me to encourage you to do so. I promise you'll have fun! And if you've already written your entry, be sure to check other authors' take on the topic. There are a lot of interesting views out there.

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Reading

I learned how to read when I was three. I still can remember distinctly the little book we used in preschool, the letters, strange symbols at first; the phrases, taking meaning and opening a whole new universe in front of my eyes. The first real book I remember reading was a child-adapted version of One and a Thousand Nights, a medieval collection of traditional tales from the Middle East. From that moment on, I knew how valuable it was to be able to travel to places, discover new cultures, and fall in love with characters. All through the pages of a book.

I wasn't the kind of child to read stories for kids. Besides, our library was filled with grown-up books, all at the reach of my fingers, right there to please my avid desire for knowledge. I read Cien años de soledad, by Gabriel García Márquez, when I was eight. If you are not familiar with the book, well, I'll just say it isn't for most adults, let alone for children.

I found so much pleasure in reading it was all I did, for quite some time. I read so much that my mom used to punish me by taking away my favorite books, as an attempt to keep me present in reality. In response, I would switch my wake-up time to two hours earlier, when everyone else was asleep, and I would read, surrounded by the peace of dawn.

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Writing

From my love for reading stems my desire to write. I believe that writers, true writers, are divine creatures that have been commended with the holiest of tasks: to channel and translate human experiences into a universal understanding. If you think of the writers you like the most, I'm sure you'll agree.

I don't aim for divinity or perfection, but I'd love to be a writer. I believe I have unique things to say, and when I'm in front of the keyboard, my fingers tingle with excitement. if I could pick just one thing to do for the rest of my life, I would write. Write to me, to others; on the computer, on a notebook, on a piece of paper, even on a napkin.

I wrote my first poems when I was six, and my mom was keen enough to keep them stored. I have them immortalized in photos. In them, I speak about love, loss, and death. Looking back, I almost can't believe they're my words, at such a young age. But I see my reflection on the words, and I know they are mine.

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Art

For as long as I can remember, art has been a strong, constant presence in my life. I grew up surrounded by brushes, paint, canvas; also music, and films. Art has many forms, and I've been lucky enough to experience almost all of them from real close. I dabbled with theatre for at least two years, for example.

If it had been up to me, I would have started taking dance (ballet, specifically) as soon as possible. It's still on my wish list. Another thing I'm yet to try is taking music lessons. I love the piano; the tenderness of the notes it produces is something magical. But, as of now, I would consider starting with the guitar, simply because my littlest brother loves it, and I would absolutely love to be his teacher, once I've learned enough, of course.

What I sure did a lot, was to paint and draw. Having so many art materials in the house, it was inevitable to experiment with them. Something I absolutely enjoy is the smell of paint. Earthy, crude, unique. I even find myself opening my sketchbook to smell past paintings, and in doing so I truly feel them.

I had stopped painting for a long period of time, until a month ago. Being here inspired me to try and bleed my thoughts into a canvas. Bleed in a pleasant kind of way, like letting go of weight, and allowing it to flow freely, in the form of paint. I'm grateful to have found pleasure again in drawing and in painting. I try to do it almost every day now.

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Hiking

When my mom decided that our new religion was going to be nature, I jumped in excitement. Not sure if I actually did that, but that's the feeling I remember. From then on, we started going to the mountain every Sunday for a long hike, a 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. kind of thing. I try to find the words to describe the sensation of being immersed in nature and its sounds, its smells, and I'm not sure I can. I just know that being there, sweating my arse off, gasping for air, was perfect. It was just right. The natural thing to do.

Then, during my teen years, my mom became an activist for nature and started a whole movement to save our precious mountain (El Avila) from provoked fires and unscrupulous construction inside of the protected areas. Our weekly hikes now had a higher purpose, to reforest and take care of the damaged zones. If that's not religion, I don't know what is.

I've neglected my love for hiking; life happened, and here I am. The last hike I did was last year, on Nov 21 (my mom's birthday). It was a strange day, and it didn't go as planned. But I got to enjoy nature with my little brothers, and that was pure bliss. Here and now, I promise to myself to honor this hobby of mine, and go on a well-deserved hike sooner rather than later. There, it's written, I gotta do it now. No excuses.

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Final thoughts

The hobbies I've talked about today with you feel actually like something a lot deeper. Maybe it's just me, but I've always considered the word hobby as rather frivolous and trivial, although the activities considered as such are definitely not. For me, these pursuits are the different routes I take when on the path to know and explore myself. They make the entanglement of my deepest desires, the skein of my dreams. They are my life.

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^{Sources of the images, in order of appearance:
📷 by Steve Johnson
Me as a kid. This image belongs to me.
My first poems (if you'd like to see them translated, let me know!). These images belong to me.
Some of my paintings. These images belong to me.
Some of my hiking memories throughout my teen years. These images belong to me.}

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^{I'd like to thank THE WEEKEND community and Galen, its founder, for yet another opportunity to reflect on life. I look forward to next week's topics. I thank you for reading this too.}