For goodness sake, get yourself a hobby

We are officially half way through term, and more mind-bogglingly, the year.

This means that the irregular sleep schedules and endless streams of Netflix-induced procrastination are now well and truly established as solid components of your *extremely busy* routine.

Alas, endless Netflix (and, for some of you lucky people out there this Valentine’s Day: Chill) isn’t exactly the most original or enriching hobby to flaunt.

And for those of you who put their names down for an outrageous amount of societies at Freshers’ Fair, only to drop them after the first essay deadline, you’re in luck: we’re here to provide you with a list of fun, original, and not excessively time-consuming activities that could be even be considered worthy topics of conversation when your family asks if you have time for something outside of all that work you must be doing.

Firstly, let’s make some things clear. Hobbies are great for your mental health, and if you’re “too busy” for hobbies (not including this phrase’s mandatory use when awkwardly declining to sign up for a society’s mailing list at Freshers’ Fair), you might be doing something wrong.

Why not try dancing?

If you go out clubbing two to three times a week, you don’t really have any excuse to not widen your repertoire (except perhaps the obvious lack of Dutch courage). You don’t necessarily have to join one of the most expensive societies in Cambridge (no offence dancers, you guys are amazing).

Take a little twirl in your room, or even better, try the Mean Girls’ Jingle Bell dance tutorial on YouTube. You won’t regret it (trust us).

And you know what they say about people who can dance… *winky face*

If you weren’t born with rhythm in your hips, and clubbing isn’t really your scene anyway, create your own hobby.

Go on a coffee hunt!

Personally, I’ve (Sophia) discovered an unhealthy obsession with ice lattes since my arrival in Cambridge, and the selection here is more than enough to satisfy this newfound addiction.

Therefore, it’s turned into a bit of a hunt for the best ice latte in town. At the moment, Gail’s and Fitzbillies are close contenders, but the ice latte with oat milk at The Red Brick Café isn’t far behind.

If you’ve read that whole ice latte description, I applaud you. But if ice lattes aren’t really your thing (firstly, ouch, don’t knock it ‘till you try it), swap it out for another drink and go forth into the universe.

By the end of it, the amount of money you’ve spent on coffee might just rival the cost of dance classes…

Exercise

Yes, we’re being serious. Exercise in the morning releases endorphins and generally boosts your mood for the rest of the day. Plug in your earphones and try going for a run.

Key word: try, it doesn’t have to be far! The great thing about running is no-one else knows how long you’ve been going for.

If that doesn’t work out, tell your college Welfare team to petition for a therapy dog and go for walks. Or just Google images of cute dogs.

Wow, we’ve really gone away from that whole exercise thing…

Alternatively, you could take up activism and channel your inner Greta Thunberg for FridaysForFuture. Join a protest, and make a super snazzy sign to wave in the face of bewildered tourists.

If all else fails, knock on your friends’ doors at 3am with tears streaming down your face and have a good ol’ hug (also tried and tested).

For those of you who claim to have hobbies…

Downing pints at the bar is not a hobby, and then talking about how many pints you just drank at the bar does not legitimise it (looking at you, Robinson Beer Festival attendees).

On the other hand, drinking wine at the bar is, of course, much better, because for that you have to be a connoisseur, which makes it totally legit.

We hope that this has clarified the myth of hobbies. They aren’t necessarily time-consuming, and sometimes they can actually be fun –who knew.

The most important thing is that you find something that you enjoy doing, and that brings you happiness. We all need a bit of joy amidst the stress.

By Sophia Kjeldbjerg, in collaboration with Kazienka Pendlebury.

Header image credit: Pixabay