What Brings Me Joy

I didn't have anything planned to share today so I thought I would just list the things that bring me the most joy, the hobbies I take up when I'm not working (which sadly is not nearly enough time). These will also be some of the topics that will be covered on this day.

1. Crafts

I love doing crafts. There is just something about staring at a blank canvas and deciding what to paint or holding a piece of fabric and coming up with an idea of how to use it. It's a liberating sense to be able to make something and it doesn't always have to be right because you are just using your creative mind. There are many other types of crafts I enjoy and they will be discussed more in depth in weeks to come. I love creating things! This can be in the form of art such as painting or drawing or even so much as dance or creative writing. To me creating something out of nothing can be the most rewarding task. To be able to look at something and say "I did that!" sometimes even if no one else acknowledges it.

2. Dance

I have always enjoyed dancing and when I try I'm sometimes really good at it! :) I was on the dance line and color guard in both high school and college. I then continued this passion by choreographing for high schools until I landed my dream job teaching the kiddos myself (more on that on job day). I just enjoy music and like to demonstrate this through motion--sometimes even making up my own moves to songs. No, they aren't always good but who cares right?

3. Photography

This is a hobby I've always had, but just recently started taking seriously. I have the nice camera and photo editing software. I started out when I was younger taking photos of anything I thought looked interesting or was arranged in a neat composition, mostly sunsets. Okay a LOT of sunsets! I even used my baby sister as a practice model. Now that baby sister is all grown up and I had the pleasure of taking her senior pictures :,( and a quick session with her best friend. I've even done a wedding or two. I enjoy it, but it's a lot of work and I don't see myself doing it professionally so for now just a fun hobby!

4. Theatre

This is another hobby that I've recently taken on. As a shy kid growing up, I never would have imagined this would be something I enjoy. However, during a dark time in my life, it became the thing that allowed me to be someone else for a few minutes. I've been in several different community theatre productions and absolutely LOVED doing it along with all the friends that I made in the process. It has really been great therapy for me and I can't wait til I get to be on stage again!

5. Music

I suppose this goes along with dancing, but another hobby of mine is music. I have a shirt that says "My brain is 99.9% song lyrics" and this couldn't be more true! My passion for music extends well past my life. My parents both love music and my maternal grandparents play in a small bluegrass band with some friends of theirs. My mom and my aunt both play the piano and I took lessons at a young age to learn how. I enjoy singing--so much so that I once majored in Vocal Music in college. Music plays a big part in my life and if you catch me on a good day, you'll find me sitting at my piano pecking out a new song I'm learning (that is if I can get my son off it). I'm glad that I can share this love of music with my husband, who is a drummer, and my son, who also plays percussion in the band and has recently taken to learning songs on the piano off YouTube.

6. Writing

As much as music and theatre are a form of therapy, so is writing. I use writing to just express how I feel. I've even thought about combining some of these into the form of songs or plays but I haven't made it quite that far. I used to write sad, sappy poems when my boyfriends/crushes broke my heart. I have also written motivational pieces and a couple of pieces that touch on hot topics such as individuality vs conformity and the importance of music in our history and lives. You can find these in my "Writings" tab under "More" as soon as I figure out how to copyright them. :/

7. Outdoors

As a child, you would often find me wandering in the woods behind our house. I just loved being outdoors and anything to do with it. I enjoy camping, four-wheeler riding, hiking, horseback riding, gardening, swimming, and just about anything you can do

outside. It is nice sometimes to get out of the stuffy house and have some room to breathe and move around. I hope to share some of these adventures with you in the days to come.

As you can see, there is a variety of hobbies that we get to explore. I can't wait to share them with you!