In reflecting on my hobbies, I’ve realized that many of them are connected through the cental theme of “words.”
For one, I enjoy journaling. The first diary entry I wrote was when I was in fourth grade. I would fill the entries with thoughts and events my nine-year-old self felt was necessary to write down. As I got older, the entries have become less frequent. I did finish writing in that diary though – the last entry I purposely left for when I graduated high school. There is another one that I started when I was in fifth grade that is currently about half finished.
Now, I write down things even less, but my thoughts, worries, and hopes have found themselves a new home in the Notes app on my phone. It is faster to type and I need that outlet sometimes to pour all what’s in my head onto “paper.” Not to mention it is always interesting to go back to read what I wrote and see how my perspectives and priorities have changed over time.
I also enjoy watching shows and movies (pretty open in terms of what genre) and reading a wide array of books (from self-help to fiction to nonfiction ones that discuss the interesting economic/psychological side of things). What I’ve started doing recently is writing down lines I feel I can relate to or are “good quotes.” Some are long and others are short. They range from fundamental truths to a shared conversation that’s made me see things in a different light.
And finally, listening to music or scrolling through Tiktok/Chinese Tiktok is just a part of my life at this point. These are quicker forms of entertainment. Despite that, even in lyrics or short videos, I pay attention to words. It’s an art in the sense that people are able to tell a story, convey an idea by intricately stringing words together.
Whether I’m writing it down, reading it, listening to it, words allow me to step back and reflect. They hold a lot of power – whether it is in the form of a diary entry, a jotted down quote, or a line of lyrics.
