Gracie Girl Blog

More and more I hear the phrase “inner child” pop up, usually in the context of therapy and working through the past, but every once in a while in terms of fun things people have discovered or remembered they enjoy. I love these things and I love finding these things in myself. Since I have become a little but of a Hobby Queen in the last few years, here are some things I do and have that bring me joy and spark my inner child.

Polymer Clay

My summer fixation was making beads out of polymer clay (Fimo/Sculpey) and then making bracelets from those beads. To be honest, these bracelets are my least favorite of the ones I made because the rest are back in Blacksburg. That’s the great thing about hobbies though, you don’t have to do them well.

Guitar

My precious little guitar. Some seasons I pick it up daily and others I don’t touch it for a month. Either way, it’s therapeutic to strum and play familiar songs I’ve played a thousand times or learn a new one. I’m thankful I started playing in middle school because it makes guitar a calming hobby rather than something I have to learn. I pretty much only play for myself, or with my friend Tracey once a year, and I’m happy with that.

Stuffed Animals

Of the things I assumed I would own at age 21, a giant baby Yoda was not one of them. Actually, scratch that, as a kid I hoped my stuffed animals would all be with me for the rest of my life so this one isn’t surprising. I saw this at Costco when I first got home from break and thankfully, since my mom is secretly hoping I go back to age eight, she let me get it. I really have no way to justify this except to say its fun, cute, and fluffy and why not have it around?!

Knitting

A fact about me that I like to keep on the DL is that I attended a knitting camp one summer as a kid. I think it was the summer my sister and I also attended a polymer clay camp (that hobby goes wayyyyy back) and a survival camp (…no words for this except that I hated it and it taught me nothing my common sense did not already know). Anyway, 10 years and an entire pandemic later I decide it was time to pick of knitting again. I first finished a blanket that was supposed to be done before a baby (who is now at least 7 yeas old) was born, then started this little squares that I’m thinking I might be able to turn into a sweater one day (and by one day I mean probably in another 10 years).

Fidget Toys

Fidget toys are highly underrated and I’m not sure why more people don’t have them. The poppers are everywhere now (my sister got me this one for Christmas), but more rare is my fidget spinner I have had since at least 2016. Not pictured: the play-dough and stress balls I have at school. Again, no justification for this except that they are fun.

Arts & Crafts

Collages from cut up magazines are my current thing. I did this one last week and it was honestly so fun searching through magazines, cutting out images and words I liked, and figuring out the best way to put them together. I feel like this type of art project was more popular as a kid (I made my Christmas list this way for a few years), but is just as fun now.

Unnecessary But Fun Mechanical Keyboard

The nerdiest and most “grown-up” hobby on this list is probably my new light up keyboard. Yes, my laptop has a perfectly good keyboard but that one doesn’t light up and make clicking-clackity sounds. This keyboard, which I’m using to type this blog post, came about a week ago and was honestly my inspiration for this post. 1) because I want to write with it and 2) it may seem unnecessary but its fun, I’m on my computer all the time, and it makes work more enjoyable (or I’m anticipating that it does because school hasn’t started back up yet). I’ll be honest, I have enjoyed life more by accepting that I’m kind of a nerd.

Here are some more things that bring out my inner child:

1. Legos. I have one Lego set I got last year for Christmas and I honestly regret not bringing it back home with me for break. I’ll warn you though, this is an expensive hobby and Lego has discovered that it fans might largely be adults because the prices for sets anything above age eight are steep.
2. Treating my sport like a hobby for a day. For me, horseback riding toggles between a workout, a sport, and a hobby. Most days, I’m working toward bettering myself and my horse, but some days I take the pressure off and just do what feels fun.
3. Making things that I know will amount to nothing. Combining art supplies just for the sake of doing it, painting something that I know will never end up on a wall. I really believe everyone is innately creative and created to create. Sometimes the only way to turn off my perfectionism is to allow myself the freedom to do something just for the sake of doing it.

Conclusion

I’m thankful for all the things I tried as a kid that have stuck with me, and the fun new things that I have found. I hope this inspired you to pick up an old hobby or explore something new just for the heck of it. Your inner child will thank you.