Yes, it is completely normal to have different interests from other boys of your age. Everyone is unique, and it’s perfectly fine to have your own preferences and hobbies. Each person has their own likes and dislikes. It’s great that you enjoy reading and have a small group of friends you are happy with. Not everyone has to enjoy the same activities. Some people love sports, while others prefer reading, art, music, or other hobbies. Reading is a wonderful hobby that can expand your knowledge, improve your imagination, and enhance your understanding of different cultures and ideas. Having a small group of friends can lead to deeper, more meaningful relationships. It’s quality, not quantity that matters in friendships. Be proud of who you are and what you enjoy. Confidence in your interests can inspire others to appreciate their own unique qualities. Try not to compare yourself to others. Everyone grows and develops at their own pace, and having different interests is part of what makes the world interesting. Consider joining a book club or literary group where you can meet people who share your passion for reading. It’s great that you recognize and embrace your interests. Your love for reading and your close friendships are valuable and important. Being true to yourself is one of the most important things you can do.

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Are you a teenager with a passion or hobby that you’d love to share with the world? Do you spend hours perfecting your craft, whether it’s art, music, cooking or sports? If so, Instagram can be more than just a platform for sharing selfies and memes — it can be a lucrative opportunity to turn your hobby into a source of income. Here’s how you can capitalize on your passion and start earning money on Instagram.

1 Showcase Your Talent

The first step to monetizing your hobby on Instagram is to showcase your talent through high-quality photos, videos, and stories. Whether you are a budding artist, musician, chef or athlete, use Instagram as a platform to share your work and attract followers who share your passion.

2 Build Your Brand

To stand out on Instagram, it’s important to build a strong personal brand around your hobby. This includes choosing a unique username, creating a cohesive aesthetic for your feed, and using a consistent voice in your captions and stories. Your brand should reflect your personality and values, and resonate with your target audience.

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Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright, the famously-known Wright brothers, decided to try something different during their school vacations. After several attempts over the years, they finally succeeded in making the world’s first air-controlled and powered flight aircraft at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, USA, on 17 December 1903. It marked the era of aviation. Likewise, many artists, sports personalities and writers have begun their journeys to renown from doing something in their leisure or holiday time.

Your holidays could be a time to explore some creative things that you always wanted to try. You could use this time to explore some new places, to read some books you always wanted to read, try some new hobbies like painting, cooking, knitting, dancing,or learning some musical instruments and thereby discover and develop your hidden talents. Most of these hobbies can greatly increase your self-esteem and enthusiasm in life. Most successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Sundar Pichai recharge their lives by leveraging something they are already very passionate about. It increases the level of success and provides potential to improve their skills.

An excellent way to relax and regain your physical and mental energy is to initiate yourself into yoga and meditation during this vacation. Yoga is an exercise focused on your body’s natural resources for health and self-healing. It is designed to create strength, awareness and harmony within both the body and the mind.
Meditation is a process of training your mind to focus. It helps to reduce stress and to increase concentration. People who do meditation can often remember detailed tasks more accurately and it may even reverse patterns in the brain that contribute to mind-wandering and poor attention. Meditation can also lead to an improved self-image with a more general outlook increasing positive feelings, which then come out in our actions.

In the present issue of The Teenager Today, you will find the inspiring story of a young Mumbai boy, Prabhat Kohli, who started with a childhood hobby of swimming which eventually took him to the height of creating a world record on 3 March 2023 at the age of 23. This issue also narrates the exciting story of Vijay Luiz, swimming with orcas during his holidays. Other articles on the good habit of reading are meant to enrich your vacation in the coming weeks. Wish you a rejuvenating and exciting vacation!

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“Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.”

Ever thought about flower pressing as a hobby? Trust me, the results can brighten up your home and life. More and more people are using pressed flowers as decorative additions to scrapbooks and as handmade gifts.

Here’s some good news — the forgotten hobby of flower pressing is back! According to The Telegraph, the art of pressing flowers, once beloved of Victorian ladies, is on the rise again. It involves drying flowers and flattening or pressing their petals and leaves. An outdoorsy pastime and a method of recording natural history, pressing flowers is the perfect craft for today, combining time spent outdoors with a little bit of patience and seemingly infinite creative variations.

The art of pressing flowers to form decorative images actually dates back to the 1500’s and is called Oshibana. It uses pressed flowers, petals, and other plants to create a detailed picture. Through an interaction between Japan and Europe, Oshibana became a popular art in the Victorian era.

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“Pottery is a practical and lasting form of art. Not everyone can afford original paintings, but most people can afford pottery.”
— Susie Cooper

Many of us like to try out a new hobby or look for an activity to keep our hands busy. Hobbies for teenagers can range from collecting stamps or reading, to learning music, photography or acting — it can be complex or simple!

Hobbies give you a chance to meet new people, discover new passions, develop skills outside school/college, and try something all kids (yes, teens are part kid) should: have fun. You don’t need peer-reviewed scientific studies to tell you that.

Hobbies for teens can include anything they love to do and are passionate about. So how about signing up for a pottery class to make cups, bowls, plates and decorations?

Pottery or ceramics is a fascinating hobby. You can create wonderful pieces that capture the attention. But most people don’t start creating pieces because they think making pottery isn’t budget-friendly.

According to potterycrafters.com, pottery is relaxing and therapeutic, and something as traditional as ceramics has become a fashionable hobby in the 21st century. Pottery is a hobby like none other with a soothing effect on one’s mind and body. It relieves feelings of stress and helps in boosting your spirit. Students can take a break from homework and paint, mould or spin for a few hours, ending up with a fun new item to put in their dorms/houses.

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“Life is like a game of chess. To win you have to make a move. Knowing which move to make comes with insight and knowledge, and by learning the lessons that are accumulated along the way. We become every piece within the game called life!”
― Allan Rufus, The Master’s Sacred Knowledge

On the occasion of World Chess Day on 20 July, I feel proud to write about the hobby of playing chess. Chess is one of the oldest games that people still play. The beauty of this game is that though it was started in the 6th century in India, the whole world plays this indoor game today.

Previously known as chaturanga, chess is a great hobby because there are many different ways that one can enjoy this game. The most traditional way is by inviting our friends and family to play chess with us.

Chess has seen a surge in popularity, transcending language and culture. It is one of the most challenging and intellectually-stimulating hobbies out there. But playing chess can make you feel comfortable and relaxed. It is a civil game and is fun as well.

Just about anyone can play chess. It doesn’t matter whether you are young or old — it is a simply satisfying game that enhances your logic and reasoning skills.

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“Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”
~ Plato

Reading is a pleasure, reading is inspiring, and reading enriches our lives through our imagination. Reading allows our mind to go on adventures and explore new places, meet new people and understand different perspectives and opinions all in the words on a page.

In today’s digital age with social media and multiple entertainment sources, there are numerous options that make it hard to motivate ourselves to read. However, if your daily reading consists of social media and WhatsApp messages, you are missing out. If you need motivation to convince you that reading every day is an essential habit for success, this article is for you. There is a perfect genre of books for everyone from novels and classical literature, science fiction, romance to biographies, self-help guides and business books — there’s something for everyone.

Reading has many benefits, and one of the most obvious ones is learning new things. You can learn practically anything from reading a book — from how to be more productive, start your own business, to cooking to managing your time effectively, everything can be found in the pages of a book.

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Bon voyage, Teddy!

Love soft toys? There are thousands of others as crazy about them as you. So much so that they register their favourite toy worthy of a vacation with someone willing to have it as a guest for a few days. With the formalities taken care of, sit back and enjoy photos of your toy chilling out in the coolest tourist spots (that even you haven’t had a chance to visit)! Best of all, you can even make special requests for your furry buddy to an obliging host — Teddy wearing sunglasses and sitting in the backdrop of Eiffel Tower would be just fantastic!

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The title of this article is inspired by Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s classic romantic novel Love In The Time Of Cholera (1985). Marquez set his novel against the raging cholera epidemic in early 20th century Latin America. In fact, epidemics and pandemics have ravaged the world at regular intervals — from plague to smallpox, and influenza to yellow fever. Since the past few months, Covid-19 has become the new normal in our lives. A pandemic that has spared no corner of the globe, it has changed and affected our existence in many ways, big and small. For young people bursting with life and energy, the confinement to home, sometimes solitary, faced with an uncertain future, has not been a very pleasant experience. There have been cases of abuse, addiction, depression, trauma, suicide, etc.

Then, how do we survive in these tough times? How do we ensure a good quality life along with safety? I’m sure you must have got a lot of suggestions. Let me dwell on just one concrete suggestion — reading for specific reasons, with some specific purpose in mind. I do not say that you should read all or most of the books in this list, below. It would be more than enough if you choose just one area that appeals to you most and read with passion just one book in that area, and try to live fully what you have read.

1. Patience: When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Sometimes waiting it out is the best way to handle a period of crisis. There is no healer and no problem-solver like time. Once you imbibe a spirit of patience, things will slowly start to fall into place. No pandemic or epidemic has lasted forever, and humans have eventually found ways to overcome all of them. There are three books I would suggest in order to develop patience. The first one is The Power of Patience (2018) by M. J. Ryan. Ryan gives some amazing insights into how one can slow down the rush of everyday life and really enjoy every moment by learning to be a bit more patient. The second book is Patience: The Art of Peaceful Living (2012) by Allan Lokos. The third book is Perfecting Patience: Buddhist Techniques to Overcome Anger (2018) by the Dalai Lama. The latter two books focus on Buddhist teachings aimed at teaching humans to overcome anger and annoyance.

2. Care, Safety, Responsibility: While some of us debate over the use of masks, while many of us crib about not being able to go out, let us remember that prevention is always better than cure. We owe it to ourselves and to those around us. The carelessness of one individual might ruin a hundred lives. We are fortunate to have health workers and security personnel to go out and wage the battle for us. Let us cooperate with them.

One remarkable book that powerfully conveys the need and the ways by which we can overcome the obstacles of life and take responsibility and ownership for our actions and shortcomings, our decisions and our destiny, is, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone (2017) by Brene Brown.

3. Positive Use of Time: Time is precious and the wise know how to use it well. In fact, the lockdown and work or study from home has freed up a lot of personal and family time. Use it for things we always wanted to do — catch up with family and friends virtually, read great books, watch amazing movies, learn music and dance, learn a new skill or craft or hobby, decorate your home, cook favourite dishes, take up teaching a subject or skill online… If you really think of it, the list is endless.

Create your own bucket list of things that you always wanted to do. 101 Things to Do before You Die (2008) by Richard Horne might give you some great ideas. Some of these ideas may be outlandish or absurd, but the aim here is not to follow the book literally, but to get the spirit of the book and create your own ‘to do’ list.

4. Return to Nature: This is a great time to re-establish the vital connect with nature. Take up gardening; look at the birds, flowers and trees; keep and care for a pet; meditate; breathe the early morning air; eat healthy; exercise vigorously; keep your mind and body engaged. Slowly, you will realise that these are the real luxuries of life! It would be worth enjoying the feast that literary classics have to offer us. Read the poems of Wordsworth, Keats and Shelley! Two essays you should not miss out are — Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell and Everything I Need to Know I Learned in The Forest by Vandana Shiva. But if you love fiction, then you will really enjoy Ruskin Bond’s The Big Book of Animal Stories (2015) and Jack London’s classic novel The Call of The Wild (1903) with a dog named Buck as its hero.

5. Creative and Positive Thinking: You may be depressed because of a break in your studies, a pay cut or a loss of job. Of course, it is hard! But it is not the end of the world. Think positive, be creative. Think of new avenues of employment, of self-employment, of new ideas. Remember, you will not lose until you lose hope.

A wonderful book I would strongly recommend is Build Your Dreams: How to Make a Living Doing What You Love (2013) by Alexis Irvin and Chip Hiden. Based on a real-life career workshop that inspired thousands of American college students, this book is a great guide for youngsters who are passionate about making a living out of their passions and interests.

6. Giving a Helping Hand: This is the time to re-awaken our long lost humane instincts. If you can, in whatever way you can, help those who are in a worse situation than you are — emotionally, materially, mentally, physically. This can range from monetary help to a phone call to help with essential supplies to online guidance to a positive text message. When you help your neighbour’s boat to reach the shore, you will find that you too would have reached the shore in no time. Reaching out to others is the best way to get over feelings of depression and self-pity. Often, our own struggles seem small when we look at the enormous challenges faced by others.

Perhaps there can be few things better than reading about one of the greatest givers of all times. Try to get hold of Navin Chawla’s Mother Teresa (2003).

7. Pray: A tree with strong roots can withstand even fierce storms. Spirituality, connecting with the divine, is a powerful way of establishing strong roots that can guide us safely through the ups and downs of life. Whichever religion you may belong to, you can always connect with the positive energy in the universe, with the strong belief that life and joy are much more powerful than death and disease. Let us hope, pray and believe that we shall come out of the Corona crisis safer, happier and wiser, sooner than later!

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Reading a book is like talking to its author. Some books comfort us by taking us to a different world created by the author. If we have good books with us we can never feel bored or lonely. If the book is a novel we feel that the characters are like our companions. Sitting in our own room, we can travel round the world.
Cajetan Noronha (14)
Don Bosco High School, Tuem, Goa

Reading is still one of the best hobbies that a teenager can profitably engage in. It may happen that we are unable to buy books. Here, Google Play Store or the App Store come to our rescue. There are many reading apps, including Amazon Kindle and AnyBooks, available where we can read books for free. All of us should inculcate the habit of reading.
Pragati Singh Chahar
St Anthony’s Jr. College, Agra

Reading is the best mantra for increasing knowledge and it helps us in gaining more information, which is a must for every teenager, today. In the 21st century of developing technology and gadgets, reading is considerably neglected by young people; but reading has a lot more benefits than they think. It improves the imagination and perspectives of a teenager. Teenagers should be guided by their parents and teachers; they should be encouraged to indulge in reading.
Ridhima (15)
Kristu Jyoti Convent School, Samba

Reading is a hobby that satisfies our mind and soul. It takes us to places of our own imagination, and makes us feel things we have never felt, through the characters. Today’s teenagers need to read, because they are continuously rushing from one activity to another.
Jessica Pereira (16)
Mount Carmel Jr College, Pune

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. Reading is one of the best hobbies for teens as it diverts a teen’s mind from everyday tensions and can help him/her relax and calm down. Teens should be encouraged to cultivate the habit of reading in their leisure time so as to improve their vocabulary, word power, increase their IQ and improve their communication skills, too.
Diya Thapliyal (15)
Notre Dame School, NTPC, Delhi

Reading is still one of the best hobbies one can think of. We can read books anytime, anywhere. Reading helps you take smarter decisions and broadens our imagination. It opens our mind to new possibilities and new ideas helping us to experience and analyze the world.
Tanya Kalra
Sophia Girls’ Sr. Sec. School, Bhilwara

Reading good books can surely be profitable to teenagers. “Books are our best friends” is an old saying. We should specially read good books like biographies of great people like Albert Einstein, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, etc.
Samridhi Sharma (16)
St Anthony’s Jr College, Agra

Reading books does incredible things like boosting our brain power, increases our vocabulary, improves concentration, makes one a good writer, enhances imagination, makes us more empathetic and also reduces stress.
The more you read,
The more things you will know.
The more you learn,
The more places you’ll go.
Himadri Mani (14)
Jeevan Marg Sophia Sec. School, Deoria

Reading helps us increase our vocabulary. It also broadens our point of view. Reading empowers you. It can also gain you a lot of respect in this fast-changing world.
Jonathan Rodrigues (14)
Don Bosco, Tuem, Goa

The teens who read literary works gain skills in handling complex ideas. The more one reads, the more information he picks up. Reading also helps teens to expand their horizons as they learn more about people and the world. Reading shows teens that everyone has problems in their lives but they seek solutions to their own problems.
Aastha Singh (15)
Kristu Jyoti Convent School, Samba

When we read more than just our classroom assignments, research clearly shows that we do well in studies, as well. The extra reading shows us how different writers put down their thoughts leading to better writing skills. The more teens read, the more information they pick up. For example, a teen who reads biographies has a better understanding of prominent people, they study in history. Reading not only provides us the fortune of knowledge and develops imagination but also helps build up our confidence.
Nishtha Uppal (12)
St Joseph’s Convent School, Jalandhar

Reading improves one’s ability to absorb and comprehend written information, helping them in virtually any career path which is essential for teenagers. Reading develops our minds and provides us a lot of knowledge, and teaches us many lessons of life. It helps us to understand the world around us better. When it becomes our hobby, we enjoy doing it. It is the best hobby especially for teenagers, as they get an amazing amount of knowledge and information.
Sanskrati Jain (16)
St Anthony’s Jr College, Agra

Reading habits in students helps them to speak confidently in front of others. It’s a fact that regular reading is very effective and worthwhile, as it makes us more imaginative. With the advancement of technologies it has become really inexpensive and students can enjoy and utilise their free time reading books.
Priyanshi Lath (14)
Jeevan Marg Sophia Sec. School, Deoria

Other than some “old world” hobbies like gardening, singing, reading is still one of the best hobbies for a teenager. It has many advantages — it improves knowledge, vocabulary and awareness — but most importantly gives the reader an opportunity to create a world using the text and one’s imagination. Reading improves our creativity, concentration, imagination and memory.
Anika Rikhye (13)
St Francis De Sales School, Janakpuri, New Delhi

Reading proves to be one of the best and profitable hobbies for young people. It instils love for literature and helps us add more content and good words. Reading good content-driven books helps stretch our analytical power. I urge my fellow teens to inculcate the art of reading and make this hobby their best friend.
Shruti Bharti (14)
Notre Dame School, New Delhi

Reading is a special hobby of mine. It has not only improved my vocabulary but also my speaking skills. Reading helps us gain confidence and build self-esteem. Reading makes one aware of the difficult words and makes one’s speech fluent, no matter what language it is. Reading should be made a personal obsession for all as it is extremely useful.
Khushi (15)
Jeevan Marg Sophia Sec. School, Deoria

Reading leads to success. It shows us how different writers put down their thoughts leading to better writing skills. Teens who read more serious literary works gain skills in handling complex ideas.
Harshdeep (14)
Kristu Jyoti Convent School, Samba

Reading improves our ability to absorb and comprehend written information, helping us in virtually any career path. There are very few jobs today that don’t incorporate written information or instructions, and the more you read, the easier it is for you to absorb that information. The more you read, the more ideas you get, and will find more ways to connect with people.
Taniya Sinha
Sophia Girls’ Sr. Sec. School, Bhilwara

A good book is said to be a light which enlightens your inner self. Books can help us in any career path: improves our vocabulary, making it easier to find conversation points with others. Moreover, reading increases our creativity and enhances our understanding. It makes us active, strong and refreshes our mind.
Deepal (15)
St Joseph’s Convent School, Jalandhar

Inculcating reading as a habit from childhood and nurturing it to grow provides young readers with a wealth of knowledge. As I started reading as a child, I realised that reading is not just a way of passing time but works on one’s mind, expanding one’s scale of thinking. Reading lets you see unknown places; meet unknown people. You are what you read. Reading builds character, a personality unknown even to yourself. What other investment can give you more profit than reading a good book? I can’t think of any.
Shailey Bellamkonda (12)
Vidyaranya High School, Hyderabad

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