My Favourite Hobbies

When I was younger, I did not have many hobbies except for riding my bike, playing with toys, listening to music, being with people, playing outside, playing computer games, watching films, watching TV, and going out to new places. I always wished for a variety of hobbies that I can get better at. I did not want to just have the same hobbies that I started out with. I wanted to explore recreational activities that would make me smarter, and increase my creativity. I still continued to socialize with people, listen to music, play outside, go out to different places, watch older TV shows and films, and play computer games.

At one point, I got into collecting porcelain dolls, and figurines.

As time went on, I gradually developed new hobbies that would foster my independence, and increase my intellectual, athletic, and creative abilities. I grew out of some of the hobbies I had, but it gave me opportunity to find new ones!

Throughout the years, I discovered that I was a creative, intellectual, active, gregarious, adventurous, and techonological person. I love making things and giving them as gifts, or even displaying them at home. I love certain sounds and would become fascinated with certain genres of music and different kinds of instruments such as the organ and the flute. Many of the hobbies that I still practice today are hobbies I have had since the youth.

I would like to share 10 of my favourite hobbies with all of my friends on Vocal! Enjoy the read!

1. Listening to Music

Since I was a child, I have always been interested in many types of music. I would come home from school and listen to my favourite songs on the computer. Whenever I loved a song, I would listen to it 50 times, and then I would find another song to become addicted to. I determined my love for certain songs by observing the way singers would sound or by the kinds of instruments that are being used. I would visualize certain images that the song would remind me of. For example, when I would listen to No Reply at All by Genesis (my all time favourite song), I would imagine dancing in my dad's car when I first listened to that song when I was 5 years old.

My favourite genres of music are Rock, Indie, Alternative, Hip Hop, Rap, Techno, World, New Age, J-Pop, K-Pop, and Drum and Bass. At one point, I loved listening to Hillary Duff and Kelly Clarkson, but eventually grew out of it when I entered my pre-teen years. Until I was 15 years old, I would come home and blast 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's tunes on my iPad or radio, and dance to them. I started listening to 40's, 50's and 60's music after watching the Shirley Temple moviesc and regularly hanging out with my grandmother (she would always put on old-fashioned music in the car).

In high school, I started listening to heavy metal, techno, rap, instrumental hip hop, indie, more rock, and alternative music because of some of the kids I was surrounded by. I also listened to bands like Green Day, Nirvana, and The Killers during my childhood, I eventually got back into them when I was in high school.

In terms of foreign music, there are certain Russian, Indigenous, and Israeli artists like Arik Einstein, Ofra Haza, Carlos Nakai, Lyudmila Senchina and Uzi Hitman that I admire. My dad used to listen to Arik Einstein when he attended university in Israel, and would play some of Arik Einstein and Shalom Hanoch's songs when I was in elementary school. After listening to Ima Adama by Arik Einstein, I continued listening to more Israeli music. Over time, I started listening to music in other international languages such as Arabic, German, Japanese, Chinese, Tagalog, Hungarian, Somali, Russian, Turkish, and Swedish.

I always bring my iPhone with me, since I can never do chores or anything active without music! It helps me move, and concentrate better!

2. Learning Foreign Languages

I grew up in a multicultural neighbourhood all my life. I have friends, family members, and I’ve encountered multiple community members who are multilingual. Over the years, I’ve listened to them speak in different languages like Turkish, Russian, Chinese, Hindi, Persian, Gujarati, Punjabi, Yoruba, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Somali, Ukrainian, Haitian Creole, Tamil, Jamaican Patois, Tagalog, Indonesian, Greek, Macedonian, Ilocano, Hebrew, Arabic, German, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, and French. I went to school in different neighbourhoods like the Bathurst Manor, and Weston-Lawrence neighbourhoods where I encountered a heap of non-native English speaking students. Many kids would not have the strength to befriend them, and I would always enjoy mixing in and getting to know them. Meeting people from around the world encouraged me to learn more languages, and eventually speak them. Some of those friendships that I have formed are friendships that I still value in my adulthood. During my childhood, many of the caregivers and housekeepers that I had were native Tagalog and Ilocano speakers. They would teach me a few words in Tagalog, and I would always hear them speak on the phone in Tagalog.

After passing by a pawn shop that had a Russian sign at the bottom, I became intrigued by the Russian language. As time went on, I continued to pass by several Russian markets and would always see the signs in Cyrillic. Before I began to learn Russian, I would always attempt to read the signs and advertisements when I would pass by, and/or visit the local Russian delis or souvenir stores. I started studying Russian at the age of 12, and I continue to learn and retain my Russian language skills as an adult.

My dad and my brother are fluent in English and Hebrew, so I want to perfect my Hebrew. I know basic Hebrew, but I still struggle with reading the alphabet. I am slowly getting better at having a conversation and expanding my vocabulary. In addition to looking up vocabulary charts on Pinterest and/or finding videos or songs on YouTube, my dad and brother would give me some tips on grammar, vocabulary, and teach me the alphabet. I still have the desire to perfect my Hebrew language skills and be able to read and write Hebrew in the future!

Due to the personal experiences I’ve had, I’m continuing to study languages, and I value the benefits of language learning. As well as YouTube or Pinterest, I use DuoLingo and I look for games, puzzles, books, and newspapers that I can read and find on my iPad, or buy at the local shops. I also discover and watch films, TV shows, and listen to songs in different languages on my phone and iPad.

3. Doing Puzzles

It was a dark rainy evening in September 2010 when I was hibernating in my bedroom. While I was sitting on the floor figuring out what to do to kill time, I found an unusued puzzle that was hiding in my bedroom closet. I eagerly grabbed it, and started doing it alone in my room. When I successfully completed the 80- piece puzzle in my bedroom that night, my mom noticed that I enjoyed solving puzzles. My parents and I began to visit the local toy shop to purchase 100-300 piece puzzles that I would do every day after school, and on the weekends. Puzzles were like my new friends that I didn’t want to reject.

In addition to doing jigsaw puzzles, I eventually tried doing other puzzles like Word Finds, Sudoku, Cryptograms, Word Jumbles, and Mazes. Out of all the paper puzzles I’ve played, I loved doing Word Jumbles, and Word Searches the most. I collected many Word Scramble and Word Find books that I purchased from the convenience store, or the book store. I’d solve a few pencil puzzles every night after school, or on the weekends.

During a vacation to Florida in 2013, I purchased a puzzle book from Barnes and Noble. The book contained all kinds of word and number games like Kakuro, Cryptograms, Word Jumbles, and Word Finds. As I was sitting on the bed next to my stepmother in the hotel room, I wanted to do a cryptogram puzzle. I did not know how to do them, so I asked my stepmother if she knew how to do cryptograms (she used to do puzzles during her young adult years). She told me that she used to do them, and she taught me how to do them. As soon as I understood the puzzles, I started doing them every day. It became a new obsession of mine. I started to buy many puzzle books and magazines that had Cryptograms in them, so I wouldn’t run out.

As an adult, I continue to do puzzles and word games on my iPad or iPhone. I stopped doing them for a while, and then I eventually got back into them when the pandemic began.

4. Reading

I have always enjoyed reading all kinds of things such as storybooks, encyclopedias, trivia magazines, online databases, and articles. With that said, I didn’t enjoy reading fiction until I was 10 years old. I regularly spend time with my grandmother who is an avid reader herself. In 2008, she was reading a book called The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, and recommend it to me when I was in elementary school. Despite only being 10 years old, I got immersed in the story. After I finished that story, I found new series and novels like The Charlie Brown series, Hoot, the Warriors and Seekers series, and many more. Some I liked more than others, but I definitely fell in love with the Warriors and Seekers series because I loved the magic, and the animals.

During my teenager years, I made constant trips to the library and bookstores to get novels about Indigenous culture, since it became one of my biggest interests. Over time, the library became my "second home", since I would not just go to borrow books. I would go to read and get myself out of the house for a few hours. I was also became a regular customer at Indigo and BMV Books.

As an adult, I still value the beauty of reading, and would encourage others to enjoy reading.

5. Arts and Crafts

I have always been a creative person! Since I was a toddler and child, I’ve been involved in multiple art programs, and practiced various forms of arts and crafts. Arts and Crafts is not something I just enjoy as a leisure activity. When I am going through a rough patch or feeling bored on a rainy day at home, I would use my creative personality to keep my mind occupied. I just think it as an opportunity to freely express myself without being biased. My favourite types of arts and crafts are knitting, latch hooking, decorating, diamond painting, painting, adult coloring, and sketching.

6. Exercising

Exercising is beneficial for both mental and physical well being. You don't only have to exercise for the sake of losing weight or reducing your risk of physical ailments. Exercise or any kind of physical activity can increase your mood, reduce your levels of stress, and is a fantastic way to release anger and frustration. I used to despise exercising until I was an adult.

As a teenager, I used to think that exercising was a chore, My dad would make me do 20 minutes on the treadmill every night, and I used to dread it every time! The only types of physical activity that I enjoyed doing at the time were dancing, tennis, basketball, bowling, walking, and hiking. Now I enjoy participating in a variety of physical activities like dancing, aerobics, walking, hiking, doing the treadmill, using the electronic bike at my local fitness centre, doing aquafit, and playing leisure sports such as tennis. I love to exercise with music on, since it motivates me to get off my rear end and get moving! When I don’t music on, I won’t exercise, and the motivation will slowly melt away.

7. Writing

Writing has been my hobby since I was eight years old. I’ve always had an insane imagination, loved words and language. Growing up, I kept a bunch of journals, pencils and pens in my bedroom,and would use those journals to craft the most ridiculous stories. I would also write down my feelings, and it would help me get through the day.

In Grade 6, my love for journaling increased so much that I even got my diary taken away by my teacher. I would write at inappropriate times, and would use that as an excuse to not attend a class activity, play with other children at recess, or do my class work.

My love for writing and journaling has grown throughout the years, and I would write for both creative and personal reasons. Writing is my way of releasing my anger, and it gives me a free ticket to vent without hurting anyone's feelings. I can say whatever I want, and no one will ever see. At one point I wanted to be a writer. I am slowly working on that goal, and I wish to continue writing for professional and leisure purposes.

8. Watching YouTube Videos

YouTube has been one of my favourite platforms since I was 7 years old. After one of my tutors used YouTube for personal reasons, I started using it to watch video clips and listen to music. I love watching videos videos that are related to travelling, cooking, baking, pop culture, lifestyle, book hauls, movie reviews, comedy, spirituality, TV shows, personal life stories, languages, music, and pranking (one of my guilty pleasures!).

Throughout my high school and early post-secondary years, I started watching more YouTube videos and discovered amazing YouTubers like Taylor R, Bald and Bankrupt, Venus Angelic, OrganicallyAnna, McJuggerNuggets, Violette1st, Leoobalys, Alina Mour, and Guava Juice. My favourite YouTubers would have to be Taylor R, McJuggerNuggets, Bald and Bankrupt, Venus Angelic and Violette1st, because they all have amazing personalities, and they all have innate video-making skills!

I usually watch YouTube videos in the morning before I get up, when I am taking a break from chores, when I am in the washroom, and before bed! They cheer me up, wake me up, and make me fall asleep quicker.

9. Photography

In Grade 10, I took a photography class that I fell in love with. Not only did I fall in love with that class, but I also did extremely well. This was because visual arts is one of my passions. The teacher I had was humourous and very kind, so that also made it easy for me to enjoy that class.

When I was 20 years old, I started doing photography as a hobby that I would practice while I would be out and about walking, travelling out of Canada, and exploring different communities in the Greater Toronto Area. Since many of my friends and my family really enjoyed the photographs I would take and share on social media, I continued to take photographs, and refused to give up since then! It was a way for me to preserve my memories, and make a digital scrapbook.

My favourite things to photograph are plants, food, ponds, buildings, people, statues, monuments, places of interest, houses, and animals. I have many of those photographs on my Instagram page, so feel free to check them out!

10. Cooking and Baking

When I was a preteen, I started taking an interest in culinary arts. My guardian and mom would bake together, and I’d always bring my edible creations to share with my friends and family. I even took a cooking class when I was in Grade 8. Since the housekeeper left in 2014, I lost interest in baking and cooking. My mom never let me use the stove or oven unsupervised, because she was afraid that I’d burn myself, or misuse them.

As soon as I moved into an independent living facility when I was 20 years old, I learned to cook unsupervised. The caseworker who would visit me during scheduled support hours would give me some pointers, and I eventually learned to cook confidently and autonomously. I learned quickly, so that was something to be proud of! I gradually started experimenting and looking up recipes. I was not the best at baking bread or making anything too complicated, but I began by creating my own pasta dishes, making my father's famous breaded chicken, making meatballs, making fish fillets, baking brownies, baking cupcakes, making scrambled and sunny side up eggs, boiling and roasting vegetables, and making all kinds of smoothies. I once tried to make sushi, but I never succeeded. It was basically a huge rice and salmon mess!

One of my goals is to make sushi and master it! As a young woman in my 20’s, I am starting to spice up my cooking and baking skills. As a result, I’m finally improving my recipe reading, recipe creating and culinary skills! Since I love cooking so much, I don't see it as a chore that I have to complete. I see it as a pleasurable activity that I look forward to doing on a regular basis!