"What are your hobbies and interests?" is a question that strikes fear directly into my soul and makes me want to weep. I can't be alone here, surely? I find it difficult to express what I like. I panic and forget everything I have ever been interested in. Ever.
It's cliché to say that you like reading. Everyone reads. Reading isn't special. It's one of those hobbies that, unless you can recite countless literary works of art, leaves you looking like a fool if you say, "Oh yes I read". But yes, I do like reading. I own novels, I enjoy poetry, I have lightly dabbled in graphic novels via recommendation. But hasn't everyone? In reality: No, they haven't. I've met people who have read classic after classic with an extensive knowledge of great works of art. But I've also met people who have never read a book from start to finish.
Television. You can't write on your curriculum vitae that you enjoy television. Well, you can, but you probably shouldn't. You can still enjoy it, but important businessy types don't want to employ someone that comes across as "lazy". But hey, who am I to talk? I am no stranger to a Netflix binge. My viewing history is appalling. Nothing says 'I really don't want to write this essay' more than eight straight hours of Arrested Development surrounded by your own procrastination shame. Am I right? It's even worse when you start wondering what the characters are doing, being completely unable to detach yourself from what's real and what really isn't. I do this with everything my brain consumes all at once. I've found myself pondering over what Blair and Serena are up to before remembering that I am not one of Manhattan's elite and this is not Gossip Girl. I live between Hertfordshire and Essex, not on the Upper East Side.
I also like cooking but, again, who doesn't? You need sustenance to stay alive. Everyone cooks - or at least warms up some form of edible matter in a microwave. Being a student, I see a lot of this. Too much. There's nothing more appreciated than coming home for the weekend and being presented with a home cooked meal that I didn't have to prepare myself. Hurrah! But I do enjoy trying new things within my comfort zone and have a basic understanding of what I enjoy and how to cook it. I used to spend far too much time looking at recipes on the internet only to discover that I am, in fact, far too lazy/poor/still lazy to even bother gathering ingredients (from a supermarket, not like foraging for nuts and berries). But lately I have been trying new things and cooking meals on a student budget is easy if you manage your expenses. Having said that, I have a 'thing' for food you can cook in a mug. Cup-a-soup is like magic. How can powder turn into food after water is poured over it? I feel like a spaceman. It's like sea monkeys but for your tummy. Am I over complicating dried foods? Probably.
I'm a pretty simple human being. I wake up, drag myself into lectures, work part-time and enjoy whatever I want. I've never been upfront in what I enjoy. I love talking to people and being all, "Hey, I like that too!" I was never bothered about plastering my walls with posters of bands I liked or films I'd seen or places I went to. I just like things and stuff and that's all really. So next time someone asks, "What are your hobbies and interests?" I am going to tell them just that. Or blush, stutter and retreat to a safe warm place. Why isn't 'not having a hobby' a hobby yet?
Are you like me and have 'standard' interests? How do you answer that burning question?
0 comments:
Post a Comment