Finding Joy In Hobbies

Welcome to the Finding Joy series! Here I will be sharing activities that help me to find joy in my life despite whatever my current situation may be. My hope is that you can also find joy in your life. Whether it be through any of these activities I share, or hobbies and experiences that you love.

Life can get stressful and busy, especially this time of year. There is so much to do and not enough time to do it. Often times down-time gets put on the back burner. The only problem is that down-time is crucial to your mental health. This article points out the signs of stress and why relaxation is good for your health.

A great way to spend your downtime, in a way you will want to actually put this into practice, is to use this to make time for your hobbies. Hobbies are subjects or activities that you enjoy. Some examples could be reading, traveling, watching TV, hand lettering, looking for cat videos online, collecting things, the list goes on. Here are some more ideas if you are looking for a new hobby. 

My Favorite Hobbies

I thought it would be fun to share my hobbies with you all to give you a few, more-detailed, ideas. Let me know your hobbies in the comments! If you’ve been around Budding Joy for a while, or follow me on social media, some of these will not surprise you. I’ve also got a few that you may not expect as well.

Dance Fitness

If you follow me on Instagram, this is no surprise for you since I post dance videos frequently. I enjoy dance fitness because it is fun and I forget everything that is going on in my life when I’m dancing. The game Dance Dance Revolution is what started getting me moving. 

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I've had so much fun dancing to this video last week so I had to share! The choreo is ??? and it's a great way to start my workouts Thanks @thefitnessmarshall @haleyjordan12 and @jaxjones for a great video ?

A post shared by Kelly (@its_kelly_lsf) on Oct 14, 2019 at 5:47pm PDT

When I look back on it I have enjoyed dance even before then. One of my favorite shows when I was younger was MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. I’ve also watched all of the movies in the Step Up series several times. Those are a different type of dancing then what I do but I still appreciate the talent and entertainment. 

I’ve actually had several dreams of me co-owning a dance studio. Those are some of the clearest dreams I’ve had. I typically don’t remember my dreams, but this one was so vivid. I remembered how the studio looked all the way to what type of dance classes and events were offered. I even created  a non-profit with this business that focused on increasing self-acceptance and self-love for teen girls I don’t know if this dream will ever become a reality, but how cool would that be?

Playing The Sims

This one may be a little surprising because it’s not something I’ve ever talked about with many people, but it’s one of my favorite ways to spend free time. For those unfamiliar with what this game is, it’s a life-simulation game. You create a person, move into, or create your own, house, then you are free to do whatever you wish. Start a family, start a career, build skills, meet people, etc. 

I started playing the Sims and The Sims 2 on the Playstation 2, then moved to a PC game for the Sims 3 and now the Sims 4. There is actually a new expansion pack coming for The Sims 4 later this month that I’m really excited about. 

I’m not really sure why I started playing this game, or even why I love it so much, but here we are. I’ve recently discovered Sims challenges which make playing the game more entertaining. Do you play The Sims? What is your favorite part of the game?

Bullet Journaling

Bullet Journaling is one of my more recent hobbies, I’m closing in on my second year using it. I’ll be posting a more in-depth article about what bullet journaling is, but for now just think of it as a diy planner. I love it because I can put exactly what I want in it and it’s a great way to improve my drawing and hand lettering.The only downside is that if you don’t create your weekly/daily spreads before the week or day starts then you are without a planner.

This year I am switching things up by making my bullet journal fitness and collections specific. Then I’ll have a seperate planner for the day-to-day and monthly general planning. I’m pretty sure this is basically just an excuse to have two planners, but what can I say I’m obsessed with all things planning related.

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Did my weekly set up a little different this week. I'm going to do a master list for the week instead of putting certain tasks on a certain day. Let's see how it works out

A post shared by Kelly (@its_kelly_lsf) on Sep 15, 2019 at 6:28pm PDT

Keeping Up With Celebrity News

This is another hobby you may not know that I love. I was the girl that had posters of celebrities covering my walls, and even my ceiling, up until I left for college. I had like two or three magazine subscriptions. It was always the highlight of my month when I got those in the mail. I kept every single one of them for the longest time. Did I ever re-look through them? Not really, but I couldn’t part with them for the longest time. 

In my first journalism class I took in college I had to write a paper on some sort of journalism topic, so of course my topic was entertainment-based. It was one of my favorite papers I had ever written. Now I watch E! News on TV or Clevver News on YouTube to get my celebrity news fix. 

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Those are my hobbies. Do you enjoy any of these activities? Let me know your favorite hobbies in the comments.  Remember to take the time each day to relax and enjoy yourself, it’s good for your mental health!