April 30, 2021
Find a Hobby
Hobbies can be a lot of fun. They may not seem important, but they actually do more for our mental health than we may think. Hobbies provide self-care in different ways, helping us relax because we enjoy doing them. Hobbies can also reduce our stress levels, and we could all use that. The three articles below detail our Self-Care writers’ favorite hobbies.
Get Started with Photography
When people are looking to get into photography, they often get really overwhelmed, really fast! It’s these little mental blockers that make getting into photography tough for some, not the actual photography itself. I’m hoping that, even if you are new to photography, you may be able to connect with stories of facing a difficult situation in another area of your life and getting the best of it.
Find Your Inspiration: Do you find yourself taking portraits the most? Or do you fancy abstract imagery or astonishing landscapes? Perhaps you would like to get into event photography. Whatever it is that made you want to try photography, hang on to it and use it as your inspiration to grow and follow your new passion.
Get a Good Camera: Anybody who’s just learning photography now can buy budget mid-pro mirrorless cameras that are not only very lightweight but also highly adept at delivering professional, magazine-quality images. But it’s important that you learn how to use your camera, and that it fits your preferred type of photography.
Compose Carefully: In photography, it’s always quality over quantity. Taking hundreds of pictures won’t make a photographer, especially if the shots are not well thought through. Before holding the camera up near your face and clicking the shutter, take a few seconds to study the scene, properly focus on your subject, and carefully frame your shot.
Attend Workshops: There’s a lot that you can learn from a photography workshop or tutorial, even if you don’t have a camera or are not all that interested in getting into amateur photography. Workshops teach you everything from camera settings, framing rules, to more advanced lessons like professional lighting and photo editing.
Here are some workshops that gear towards novice photographers!
- Your very own UW-Green Bay offers a contining-education Discover Digital Photography course, with six-week access and 24 lessons!
- Photography lessons with Kasey and Ben.
- Camera Corner Connecting Point classes.
—Bruce Kong
Bullet Journaling
If you’re like me and like to keep your life organized, you could try bullet journaling as a way to do so. It allows you to customize the pages to suit your own needs, so you don’t have to settle for some of those planners you find in stores, and also to make it as minimalistic or artistic as you want. Keep your life organized, be as creative as you want, and hopefully you will find it as calming as I do. If you are looking for some inspiration, there are some ideas below, as well as the gratitude journal in Driftwood issue #16 and tons of ideas on Pinterest!
What you need to get started:
Notebook: This can be anything you want to keep it in, whether that be an actual journal that uses bullet points, a lined notebook, or even one you create online in a design app like I did (see right).- Pencil/Pen
- Markers/Crayons/Stickers/etc. (OPTIONAL): If you are wanting to make this a more artistic endeavor, you can use anything you have laying around, from crayons to paint. Or crafting stores have options for tons of stickers, stamps, and more that you could get.
Some ideas for things to include in it:
- Index
- Weekly planner (see right for idea)
- Yearly planner
- Books to read
- Goals
- Brain dump
- Birthday/holiday list
- Gratitude pages
- Favorite quotes
- Study tracker
Learn a New Language
By setting aside time every day, you can learn a new language and give your brain a workout at the same time. The benefits go beyond learning a new language: you’ll also improve your memory and problem-solving skills. By choosing to make the learning process a hobby instead of taking classes, you’re able to decide how much time you set aside each day and when you practice. There are plenty of apps that can help you learn a new language, but I’m going to discuss the two I found most useful:
Duolingo: This app is game-based and teaches you words and phrases using a memory-card format. Remember when you were younger and you had math flashcards to practice addition and subtraction skills? This app does the same thing basically, but with languages. Choose from 37 languages, even including Klingon from Star Trek.
HelloTalk: After practicing on Duolingo for a bit, check out HelloTalk because it will give you the opportunity to talk with Native speakers of the language you’re trying to learn. You’ll be able to discuss and practice phrases while also helping the other person learn your native language.
Other things you could try:
- Find a workbook and slowly complete it.
- Follow language tutorials on YouTube.
- Watch films and shows in the foreign language (with subtitles in the beginning).
- Find a partner to learn the language with and take turns learning phrases and teaching them to the other person.
- Write in a journal in the language you’re learning. This will help with vocabulary and sentence creation.