I took a personality test once (good ole MBTI) that informed me I was a great project planner and not much of a project completer. Translation: I never put my creative energy to use. My Pinterest boards are stacked to the max, I have "One Day" shopping lists for the day I decide to invest in a new hobby, but I can never exert the energy to make it happen. There are so many (I say totally valid) reasons why this is the case - not enough money (uh this is the reason behind everything I ever do), not enough time, too much mess, too much what-am-I-going-to-do-with-all-that-extra-junk-I-make, but the main reason I've never stuck and gone whole-hog (what a great phrase) with a hobby is the need for precision.
Sewing: This one gnaws at my heart on a regular basis. I have a sewing machine and a lovely lovely assortment of tools, as well as books of pro tips and patterns to make...one day. I even took sewing lessons from the lovely shop where my parents purchased the sewing machine. It's all wonderful. Some day, I say I will go back to it and become a sewing fiend, maker of clothing and home decor. I hope this is true. But gosh almighty, sewing. Takes. Forever. You have to measure things and cut things and iron things and pin things and then measure again. It is probably one of those things that most people become more natural at doing by practicing it. Most people, however, are not quite as fly-by-night as I am, and when I do the sewing, things get messier and less accurate each time I pick out a new pattern. I figure, what is the worst that could happen? If the hems aren't even all the way around, does anyone really notice that? With my brain turned on, the answer is, of course, yes. People notice when you look like a drug addict made your clothes. However, I have a fun habit of turning the ole brain off when I'm trying to accomplish something, and Less Than My Best Effort brain always seems to win out in these discussions. I guess because the other one is turned off.
Gardening: Precision may not be quite as important with this one, but the critical issue here is that I literally have no idea what I am doing. So at least some element of know-how is necessary. Two years in a row, I have planted seeds, watched them grow into shoots, and let them die as shoots because I don't understand what the put-it-in-dirt part is supposed to look like. Pathetic, I know. Stupid City Girl proud, y'all. But I'd hate to invest all that money into garden tools and still not produce anything delicious and beautiful because I'm gardenally challenged.
Soap Making: This is a recent endeavor that never came to fruition. It sounds like suuuuper fun, and good smelling, and potentially profitable or at least nice for other people come Christmas time. Homemade soap can smell like whatever I want it to! How fun is that! Really fun. Sounds great. But then I made a handy dandy list of supplies to go pick up at the store and I was all like, This is what I need, and my wallet was all like, pity you didn't register for those small appliances last May because you will never be able to afford them ever again. (By ever again, I pretty much always mean until I get a real job and have forever rid myself of the University of Tennessee collective.) Also, that darn stinking precision is important so that you don't kill or explode yourself combining lye with water. So it makes me nervous that I would get comfortable with the recipe after my first attempt and end up blowing a hole through the roof. That's never advisable.
Note: Soap Making is still my go-to "I want to try that" hobby, so watch this space and you may eventually see me saving my pennies to buy the required supplies. No time soon, though, because there is going to be a newly 7 year old girl in my house in about a month, and all the pennies are going towards the presents for her for the next few weeks.
Baking: Precision is important and so easy for me to brush aside for the sake of time or cost effectiveness. For example, I regularly (like actually every time I decide to bake something, y'all) don't have quite enough of at least one ingredient, and I just carry on with the rest of the recipe in the assumption that it might not be perfect, but dude, it's cupcakes and even imperfect cupcakes are better than no cupcakes. This ends up with me not coming across as an excellent baker or cook. I want to self-righteously proclaim that I would be an excellent cook if I had an endless supply of recipes and ingredients to go in the food, but no one cares. All anyone ever seems to care about these days is the fact that occasionally I will substitute bizarre things that make all of the food I cook taste just a little weird.
Some people are so picky.
Does anyone have advice for picking a hobby that is so incredibly cost effective that I don't have to worry about the initial investment? Does anyone have any advice for actually sticking with a hobby?
As an aside, I think all of these hobby ideas would be more fruitful for me if I had a Hobby Buddy or Hubby. If Matthew decided to make soap with me (hahahahahaha...well, maybe one of the other ones I listed is more likely) I guarantee I would stick with it and probably keep things more precise to avoid being mocked by His Perfect Preciseness. And if I had a friend who wanted to come over and do literally anything with me, I know I would at least attempt to do it right. It's being left alone to my own devices that always lands me in disastrous circumstances and leads to my giving up on whatever hobby I had momentarily chosen.
What hobby have you successfully committed to enjoy?
See Y'all...maybe more often as I consider what career path I will be taking with My English Degree come this December ;-)
Mrs. M
