To be honest, coming up with the title to this article was a mind mixer. I still have no clue as to what to call this “thing” that I’m doing in my life (don’t we all?), so I’m just going to call my approach to life as a “nomad traveler.”
To explain, my hobby is trying different hobbies. I’m like a little bunny bouncing around different things and then exploring my heart out.
Growing up I’ve tried numerous things from taking ballet classes, being in my school’s Track and Field team to picking up the cello to dabbling in jujitsu and muay thai. And the list goes on…
In the past I would always tell my friends and family that I was up to nothing. I did nothing in my free time and I didn’t have any hobbies. The truth was that I was doing many things but I was afraid of voicing them aloud for fear of others thinking that I was an uncommitted person. I was unable to commit to things so that’s why I do different things.
While this may be true to some extent, I see nothing wrong with someone who loves to explore the many faucets and opportunities that life offers.
Of all of the hobbies that I have explored, I’ve gave my all and really pushed myself to learn the craft. Yes, sometimes I get lazy or I realize that the activity is not meant for me and that leads me to try something else. Which is normal because hey, we’re all human here and how am I suppose to figure out what I enjoy and what I’m good at if I don’t proactively try things.
Furthermore, exploring different things has also helped me gain confidence and has allowed me to see my potentials in the raw and flesh.
I have always been the shy and quiet kid with low self esteem, thinking that I was never good at anything. I guess the fact that I was very sheltered and took everything with a good fucking load of salt played a major part in who I’ve become today.
In dabbling in the many opportunities that I’ve come across (not just things like classes but jobs and internships), I learned that I am able to do so much more than I thought. I learned that I’m good at public speaking even though it terrifies me, I learned that I’m a somewhat decent writer, I learned that I’m a pretty good baker, I learned that people want to hear me speak and people want to help others. I learned that by doing things that scare the shit out of me I grow a lot as a person.
A lot of the things that I’ve experience has also helped me in other timelines of my life, carrying this way of thinking to the present. For example, writing on Medium. A few years ago, I would not have imagined publishing an article for the internet- goers to see. Too scary to share my thoughts. But now, I am willing to push myself out of my comfort zone to just write. I tell myself that my writing doesn’t have to be perfect or the best and it’s a win if I just put myself out there.
For someone who likes to keep things low key, putting myself out there is scary. But, each time I put myself out of my comfort zone and come back alive, I realize that it wasn’t so hard. And each time I do it again, it gets easier and easier.
So, to those of you who stick with one or a few hobbies I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. It’s a good thing! You do you boo. But, that is not the path for me and that’s okay. For y’alls who also approaches life as a “nomad explorer,” know that all of the things you do will somehow pipe into a pool of potentials.
