February 26, 2021
News2020 was far from easy. None of us expected to live through a global pandemic and to have our lives turned upside down. While we’ve been attached to the digital world since the 90s, it became our lifeline in 2020. Zoom and FaceTime replaced seeing our friends in person. Netflix became our therapy and Tik-Tok stood in for evening entertainment like going to a theatre production. We’re all glued to our phones more than ever. If you’re conscious of blue light damage to your skin, or in the mood for a digital cleanse, we have five hobbies you can try that can help you escape the drama of 2021.
Embrace your green thumb and give gardening a try. If you have the space, you can try planting your own fruit and vegetables to create your own at-home farm. You could even grow your favourite plants and flowers, so that you can watch them bloom as the seasons change. There are thousands of gardening guides that you can follow online. Start small with a window box and bring some colour into your home.
Escape the chaos of 2021 by finding refugee in a journal. Someday, you’ll want to look back on this time. You can use your journal to write your thoughts and feelings, your hope for the future and anything that is happening in your life. You might find it helps you process the world around you and lets you unload your feelings and relieve stress. Treat yourself to a leather-bound journal and use it to write down anything that comes to mind. You can make a ritual out of it by taking a few minutes every evening to write down your thoughts.
We’re all guilty of forgetting to look up. Hiking and walking became everyone’s favourite hobby during 2020. After all, we’ll do anything to get out of our homes, even for a few minutes. Get away from your phone screen and go and look at the night’s sky. You’ll find that it will instantly relax you and remind you that there’s no problem too big for you to tackle. You can bring a journal along to track the constellations and even invest in a small telescope.
Use your fingers for something than scrolling through TikTok and try puzzle solving. Whether you’re a fan of Harry Potter or love the sight of the New York skyline, there’s a jigsaw puzzle out there for you. Clear a space in your home that you can use to put together your jigsaw. Try to find larger puzzles with a few hundred pieces that you can spend a few nights working on. If you find a puzzle that you fall in love with, you can even have it framed as a work of art.
Instead of sending your loved one a text message or a gif over WhatsApp, consider giving them a handwritten note. It lets you to take the time to think about what it is you’re writing. You might find it easier to tell them something on paper than over text message. Letter writing is an art form that we’re quickly losing thanks to the ease and convince of texting and e-mail.
If someone has helped you out during the pandemic, write them a thank you note and drop it off on their doorstep with a bottle of wine or a bunch of flowers. Taking up writing as a hobby can give you something to look back on after the pandemic. You could even try finding a pen pal to connect with during 2021 – you never know, you might find your new best friend!
The first time you hear the phrase ‘Y2K’ it might stop you in your tracks. The name simply refers to the year 2000, focusing on the trends of the early 2000s up until 2010. Why are the trends back so soon? Usually, most fashion trends work on a twenty-year cycle as one generation grows up and sees the clothing style of the previous one. The Y2K trend has been made popular by Generation Z, who have come to love the trends they were too young to appreciate as children. There are Instagram accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers, dedicated to posting y2k fashion inspiration.
After spending a year locked in our homes thanks to COVID-19, we’re all eagerly awaiting the day that we can go traveling again. While it’ll take a while for the tourism industry to return to normality, we can expect to be able to start traveling within the next few months. If anything, the pandemic gave us a newfound appreciation for being able to travel and experience new cultures and environments. It has made the idea of travel more meaningful for us all. We’re rounding up five things you can do to create a more meaningful travel experience in 2021.
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