It’s ok to suck at something
I read this article “Why Sucking at Your Hobby Could be a Secret Weapon” and I may have fist punched into the air “YES!” Because yes it is!
I also love that Tanner breaks down the history of the word hobby a) because the definition is brilliant and b) I’m an English major.
“Let’s consider the word first: hobby. Funny little word. It sounds childish, and that’s because it is. Back in the 1400s, the word “hobi” was a nickname for a small, active horse. As the centuries went by, the word was clumped with horse to form “hobbyhorse,” the name for that iconic children’s toy: a long stick with a horse’s head attached to it.
Kids rode these pretend horses for centuries, and the activity became associated with a kind of blissfully pointless diversion. Eventually the first half of the word broke free. Hobby came to describe an “activity that doesn’t go anywhere.”
Hobby’s are supposed to interesting, engaging and somewhat relaxing. I call it puttering. Just zoning out, not with the purpose of getting anything done, but to let my mind disengage. In this day and age of everyone telling you to monetize your hobby it can sometimes be hard to remember that.
The picture above is probably around the 20th pot I made and I can tell you that functionally it is a pot but man it is not a good piece of pottery. It weighs about 5 pounds because it takes a ton of practice to have smooth bottoms and sides to your pots. My bottom heavy bowls are great as water bowls for Sweetie because she can’t pick them up and throw them around (a favorite bunny past time). Oh and I totally killed that plant.
I’ve been sewing since I was about seven so it is second nature to me. I also crochet, weave and embroider. I craft a lot. My first pottery class left me almost in tears. My brain felt all wrong and twisted and my hands did not do the right thing. I did not want to go back. But I did and little by little I got better and I started to enjoy it. I still sucked at it but I was having fun.
Go make something and if you suck at it, that’s ok.
