In a few short days I will be embarking on a journey that involves lots of tears, stress and an abundance of glitter. You guessed it, I’m going to a concert. Now, I am not here to talk about the artist whose concert it is, and quite frankly, for the purpose of my message, it doesn’t even matter. What matters is that I am really, REALLY excited about it.

I have recently thought about the fact that when we were younger, it was simultaneously more embarrassing and less embarrassing to be excited about your hobbies and  interests than it is now. Kids sometimes picked on the ones who were unapologetically themselves but I also feel like it was easier to find others who were excited about the same things as you. Furthermore, we had more time, less stress about finances, and less pressure to act like Serious Adults. We did not stress about advancing in our studies or careers, we just did our math homework for the next day (if that) and spent the rest of the evening with our hobbies and interests. We did not think whether our sticker collection was actually a worthwhile hobby or whether the money spent playing football could have been used for the remodel of our kitchen. We did what we did because it was fun. It didn’t need to be productive, “important”, or lucrative. It just needed to provide enjoyment for that particular moment.

As I have gotten older, my hobbies have been accompanied with unwanted thoughts about their importance. We are told that hobbies and interests are important. But not as important as money. Not as important as a job. If you make bracelets for the heck of it, you are wasting your time. But if you turn it into a business, you are An Inspirational Girlboss Who Is So Very Creative And Living The Dream. As we get older, more and more aspects of our lives are tied to money, advancing in our careers, and what other adults consider to be worthwhile. I would love to enjoy my hobbies without the stress of wondering How This Hour Of Stardew Valley Is Bringing Me Closer To My Career Goals. I could try to make money from streaming or creating cross stitch patterns. Or I could just enjoy the game.

One of the best things in life is to listen to someone’s interests and see their eyes sparkle as they are explaining every detail about them. Wouldn’t it be dreadfully boring if we were all interested in the same things? Wouldn’t it be awful to only be able to discuss what we do for work? Adulthood does make some aspects of hobbies easier: you can decide where you spend your money and no one is there to tell you to turn off that godforsaken farming game at 4am. However, what I do miss is the feeling of losing yourself in a book or any hobby without wondering if what you are doing is important enough. If you enjoy doing it, it is important enough. And if we were not embarrassed of spending time on “useless” things (read: not for monetary gain or other’s approval), it would be easier to find likeminded friends and communities. You could even find a webzine where students write about their unique interests. Imagine that…