It’s that time of the year when we either explore new destinations or brush up on our favourite art. Whether we reminisce over our favourite holiday memories or capture them on canvas, we like to get it picture-perfect or video perfect. How about taking up vlogging to keep our memories intact and safe and in a place where we can share them with everyone?

What’s the one thing we can learn during our summer holidays that can change the course of our life? Gone are the days when we travelled just to satiate our taste buds and kept a travel diary. We are in an age of technological advancement and we must familiarise ourselves with technology wisely and creatively. Vlogging is a surprisingly affordable and attainable modern-day hobby for anyone who has the personality and enthusiasm for it.

The word ‘vlog’ is a portmanteau of video and blog. A vlog showcases video content in the casual tone of a blog. Vlogging is nothing but blogging in the form of a video. Just like blogging, through vlogging, too, we can express our thoughts. Today, anyone can turn any passion or hobby into a successful vlog.

Vlogging is more than just a fun hobby or a creative outlet. People even make good money doing it, although not everyone. But don’t be disheartened if you aren’t able to do so initially. If not for monetary gains, you can be sure of the fun and creativity involved with this fast-growing hobby.

Popular types of vlogs

• Beauty
• Gaming
• Travel
• Technology
• Health and fitness
• Cooking
• Do-it-yourself
• Lifestyle

Many dream of turning their vlogging hobby into a full-time job. All you need is a bit of quick editing using newbie-friendly video-editing apps and you can create engaging moto vlogging content.

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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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“Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence.”

World Music Day or Fête de la Musique is an annual celebration that takes place on 21 June every year to honour amateur and professional musicians. On this occasion, how about taking up the hobby of either playing a musical instrument or listening to music?

Playing a musical instrument, especially the guitar, is one of the most popular hobbies worldwide. Millions play the guitar as a leisure activity, as it is one of the easiest musical instruments to learn.

According to research conducted by Fred Cicetti of Live Science, playing the guitar lowers blood pressure, decreases the heart rate, reduces stress and lessens anxiety and depression. Researchers suggest that both listening and playing any musical instrument can improve our memory capacity. There is also emerging evidence that playing music can improve our immunological response to viruses and bacteria. Isn’t this very important in this current scenario?

Playing a musical instrument is a great hobby to have. So if you are thinking of taking on a new hobby this year, music lessons are a great option. A few of the musical instruments one can easily learn and play are: keyboard, piano, recorder, classical guitar, drums, electric guitar and violin.

Five benefits of playing a musical instrument

1. It is a form of therapy.
2. It is good for the heart.
3. It enhances creativity.
4. It can future-proof the brain.
5. It enables us to express our feelings.

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“The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”
~ Paulo Coelho

So let’s set an example — an example by which we can contribute our bit to making the environment cleaner. The earth loves us and we need to love it back by taking up a hobby that will enable us to keep it clean. And what better way than going on a clean-up drive! It is one of the most powerful ways of caring for our environment.

According to the United Nations, more than 80 per cent of the world’s wastewater flows back into the environment without being treated or reused. Once water is contaminated, it is difficult, costly, and often impossible to remove the pollutants. Let’s get together with a group of people to pick up and dispose of litter at beaches, rivers and other water bodies. This way we can recycle the materials that are recyclable in our area and also make sure that there’s a reduction of garbage around different sources of water.

As water quality issues are complex and diverse, it deserves urgent global attention. So let us be a part of communities, groups, schools, businesses and local government bodies that carry out activities addressing local environmental issues.

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“I have too many candles,” said no one ever. Candle-making is one the most popular hobbies for all those who love candles. This beautiful hobby gives candle lovers the opportunity to create their very own stunning candles. It is one of those hobbies that help you feel relaxed after a long day as the craft of creating candles from scratch is simply exhilarating. During any festive season, candles made with our own hands can add that much-needed festive cheer to our homes.

We will never be at a loss for ideas while making our own candles as there are many different types of candles, and we can really get creative with our own designs and scents. We can liven up our spirits with personalised scents, colours and styles to create unique candles.

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“Meditation is a tool to enhance and deepen our understanding of the self.”
~ Sandeep Maheshwari

It’s the New Year! This New Year, let us learn something new! How about the idea of having more happiness and less stress? So let us take up a hobby that will enable us to put a stop to racing thoughts and help us to be blissfully happy.

Though meditation is not considered as a traditional hobby — a hobby is something you can do on and off and meditation requires daily practice — we can take it up as a hobby just to build up our self-confidence and to resolve our phobias and fears. Yes, there are innumerable benefits of meditation as it helps us control our thoughts and enables us to focus.

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“There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere.”
– Annie Leonard, Proponent of Sustainability

One popular nature-saving hobby and lifestyle that is rapidly entering our life is upcycling — the creative way to make a completely new and unique item from the existing one in just a few steps! Upcycling is to create a product of higher quality or value than the original one.

Many youngsters as well as adults have taken up upcycling as a hobby using a variety of processes by which they modify their old products — giving a second life to them. These old products are thus turned into “new” ones.

If recycling involves the destruction of waste in order to create something new, upcycling takes waste and creates something new from it in its current state.

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I know of people who feel so proud of acquiring exquisite objects, going to quite unheard-of lengths to acquire that item of their liking. This is further heightened by the pleasure of gathering that they get from this; the hobby of collecting keeps them motivated because of its unique characteristics relative to the items they possess.

The hobby of collecting consists of acquiring specific items of one’s choice. You can either start your own exquisite stamp collection or silverware collection — it all depends on you! The hobby of collecting thematic stamps has been a popular one for generations. There are innumerable other items of outstanding artistic and documentary value that belonged to the past which you can collect. A collector’s choice depends on the rarity, exquisiteness, price and quality of that particular item.

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