When I was in graduate school, I wanted to try something new, so I joined a local roller derby team. I loved the opportunity to learn and participate in the sport, but also enjoyed the opportunity to work for the team’s nonprofit. We did a lot of volunteering with other local non-profit organizations, and I appreciated how I could see my teammates in different ways, and to help out in a community outside of my usual church connections and volunteering. It was a significant physical commitment to attend training sessions and travel to games (bouts) and there was some financial commitment (paying team dues and having the right equipment, fishnets, and a good pair of skates). I loved the adventure and getting to know an entirely different group of people.
I had some family that lived close by at the time, and our church small group, and friends from graduate school. But having family that lived close by at the time, some people from church, and fellow graduate students come out to a roller derby bout to cheer on their favorite, nerdy pivot and blocker was an absolute joy. I had found a new hobby. It was a great counterweight to the intellectual rigor of graduate school. And a great way to blow off some steam.
Anne Helen Petersen, writer of the Culture Study newsletter on Substack, wrote about hobbies and perfectly captured the appeal:
From age 26 to 38, I didn’t have a hobby, unless “working all the time” could be considered a hobby, which it cannot, because it is work….I told myself I didn’t have the time or the resources to make a hobby happen. Weekends were for working or desperately recovering from work. After-work was for commuting home, doing a little more work, and falling into bed.
Around age 37, I began to think of my lack of hobbies as a clear sign of my broken work brain. Who was I, what did I actually like doing, other than making a list of things I needed to do and then methodically doing them?
As I wrote then,
“…after a few runs, all of those feelings of childhood came rushing back: feeling strong and fearless and hedging that thrilling line between total control and losing it, but also the glorious, unbound expanse of the mountain and the day. It felt at once easy and challenging, natural and all I wanted to do forever. I think that’s what a hobby is supposed to feel like: not an obligation, but a state you’re always returning to. It doesn’t have to be expensive, it doesn’t have to be organized, it doesn’t have to depend on other people. It just has to be yours.”
I think Petersen is spot on. The hobby doesn’t need to monetized. It doesn’t need to be done very well or measured in some way. And I don’t need to commit to doing it forever or even for a certain length of time. Sometimes it’s nice to just try something. And, if you like it, keep doing it, because you enjoy it.
During COVID lockdown, my siblings and I became fans of Formula 1 racing. On race day, there’s a good chance we might be texting each other about gremlins in the DRS (drag reduction system), or tire degradation, or team strategies for pit stops. We might be debating the double stack or the undercut, and we’ll remark on the comments that drivers make, the expressions of team principles along the pit wall, or the way that one driver talked to his engineer. We’ve bought some F1 merch, know too many of the drivers’ birthdays, read and comment on the F1 gossip, and have made grand plans to attend a race someday together. Though I doubt our plan of finding a super rich friend with a yacht to attend the Monaco Grand Prix will come to fruition, attending a US or Canadian Grand Prix in the near future will definitely happen. It’s a great way to bond with siblings who all live in different states, but have the same sense of humor when we text about a race or breaking news in the sport. Watching F1 races and participating in F1 culture has become a really fun hobby.
When is the last time you tried something new? And, if you liked it, when is the last time you tried a new hobby?
Anne Helen Petersen, “What is Millennial Hobby Energy?” April 9, 2025 via Culture Study https://annehelen.substack.com/
6 Responses
Rebecca,
Your blogs always give me food for thought. Thank you for this. I am trying to wrap my head around you playing Roller Derby. That is a classic.
My new hobby is learning to read music. Better late than never in life.
Have a blessed Holy Week.
Thanks for your healthy perspective… on work, fun, healthier thinking and living. At age 40, this unhealthy, workaholic pastor accepted the invitation to become a soccer referee while never having played the game. A life-changing decision, which quieted my “drive”, I recall that contracts for games got me out of the office spring and fall, jogging 12 months a year in order to try to keep up with the Kids; and I never had to break a referee contract in order to take a pastoral emergency visit or to do a funeral. At age 60, having finished my “20” years, I listened to my Doctor’s advice and stopped running, gave my aching knees a break and retired, from soccer. At age 80, I’m planning my second knee replacement, and I still miss soccer and simply being on the pitch, with Yellow and Red Cards at the ready…
Thank you for this, Rebecca. After the last Winter Olympics, one of the curling clubs here in the Chicago area had a “come try curling” promotion, so my wife and I went. It was harder than it looks and a lot of fun! I gave serious thought to joining a beginners curling league, but could not get their schedule and my calendar to line up. Alas… maybe some day.
Great stuff Miss Rebecca! How well I remember: ‘making a list and then doing it’. Is reading fantasy a hobby? It gives my brain a break from current events!
Early in my first marriage, my husband and I were invited to a run-what-you-brung race. It was a one car at a time car race against the clock on small race courses: best time wins a car-on-a-stick trophy. We eventually joined Sportscar Club of America Solo program and raced nationally. It was a family sport and our kids met other kids from around the US and Canada. At the time I worked at a church and was dubbed the “church lady” by fellow racers. Occasionally I was asked to offer a prayer at banquets. You never know where God calls you. Racing was the glue that helped keep our family together during some difficult times. We played well together. I highly recommend hobbies.
Thanks Rebecca, My hobby only involved wheels once, which have long ago been removed, but often legs, feet, seats, and surfaces. I have refinished furniture since my teen years when I attended 4-H. The acquiring, stripping, sanding, repairing, and applying the final finish coats have fed my soul. I often likened it to my, and the faith journey of others. God finds us, strips us of our scratches, broken pieces, and discolored surfaces. Sometimes even our dents or gouges need filling. This week I am especially reminded of His great refinishing provisions.