Hobbies. I like em. I talk about them a lot. See the link to an old post about the same thing. I will always be team pursue your passions but note that not every passion needs to become a side hustle or even your primary career. I think this especially important for young people who may be multi-passioned. Some people follow the philosophy of choosing college majors and careers based on passion because *insert the quote about never working a day in your life because you love it so much*. But passions change. Passions, like flames, can die out and for some this creates guilt because they’ve invested a lot of time and money to pursue this passion.
When I was kid I wanted to be a neurosurgeon. I would watch the health channel (Dish-on-Demand) and watch the surgeries for fun. In fifth grade I rather enjoyed the 10/11th grade BGCSE biology book as fun reading. And then one day I came to a realization that surgeons literally have people’s lives in their hands and I thought that was a lot pressure and too much power for human hands. Then I became interested in food and health and a lifelong food enthusiast. And today, I work as a school counselor.
I often oscillate back and forth between thoughts of “you need to hustle more, pick up a side gig, get that bread/bag/bub and “you can’t take it with you, rest is important, do you really want to kill yourself to make a living”. Surely there’s a balance in between there. I haven’t quite found it yet.
Internal dialogue: My vision board remind me to “treat yourself” but that requires money. Also, “collect moments not things”. But how are you going to uplift your family, create generational wealth and afford a fabulous Maldives vacation? Multiple streams of income, dropshipping, investing, build your brand, hustle, hustle, hustle.
Where was I going with all this? ………Oh yea, hobbies. I —
I like to write a bit and pause, then come back to my thoughts. After I wrote the above, I had a moment of reflection. In order to break generational curses, to not be in the constant struggle, we that want this change have to do more. Have to do different. Early 30s is still young but it’s old enough to where I’d like to be of use and support to my family and I’m not. We’re all out here individually (my husband and I, my parents, siblings) trying to hustle and bustle our way to our separate goals…none of us quite in the position to help the others. Even if all of this is “chasing after the wind” as Solomon calls it (Eccl. 2:12, 17, 26), at least I would have helped out the people that mean a lot to me.
For now, I’ll continue to navigate my internal thoughts and figure out how to do more, be more, help more. I’m the daughter of an island fisherman and former travel agent/insurance agent. My aunt skinned conch to pay for her BJCs. My grandmother worked three jobs to help put her youngest son through university. I can do this.
Life of Neu 