What new activities have you all been meaning to start?

Wouldn't call it a "resolution" but my goal for '24 is to finish the current cane project, & do the next one...or at least get that halfway done. (This is all woodwork)

@slowdecline48 Best of luck!! What's the cane project about?

@BearListens It's not really "about" anything. I walk with a cane & don't like those chintzy adjustable ones sold at drugstores, so I build 'em out of wood. It's just a creative outlet & something to get me up & moving.

You can find snapshots in my hobby journal, about 1/3rd of the way down the first page.

@slowdecline48 Whoaaa, you're telling me you make these by hand?! That's AMAZING! I just took a look at your page - I love the shape of that handle (that's the handle, right?) - It's not "candy cane" shaped, it has more of a classy shape to it! 

@BearListens  😂 I do use power tools but for the most part, yeah...my canes are built by hand. The only power tools I use are a portable table saw (for ripping boards & small logs lengthwise. It's not precise but it works) & a cordless drill.

I've never made anything with a shepherd's crook ("candy cane handle"). That would require steam bending the wood, which I'm not set up to do. The other thing is shepherd's crook-type handles are not the best option for one's hand, especially if you're putting any weight on it. The only thing you can say for 'em is they make the cane easy to hang from a coat rack. I usually make my handles rounded but not that sharply, so they're still supportive. Ergonomics is a thing.

@slowdecline48  Agree!  Ergonomics is so definitely a thing!  And also, good point about the design for putting weight on the item.  It needs to be strong enough itself in order to take the on the extra pressure.  That would certainly need to be taken into account if someone was making it to be used!  vs to hang on the wall?  haha. you know.  ~ Platy 

@BearListens

hiiiii yk what i can relate lol i am kinda lazy sometimes lol like cannot have like routine hobbies. It is kinda hard yk?😥 but what i learn is when you wanted something you will make an effort for it no matter how busy or hard it is. Before this i hate journaling lol it took 3 yrs to make it as a routine i dont really like the triggers but i finally comfortable to wrote down everything everyday like in the morning or at night. But my new year's resolution this year i wanna learn new language hehehe other than that still look up what hobbies that is fun hehe. 

@HealerRecel02 I'm so glad you got yourself to journal! I know it can be hard to unpack past traumas and triggers, but I think for a lot of us, it's a great opportunity to grow. Great job! As for learning a new language, go for it!! Do you have one in mind? I've had a mixed relationship with learning languages where it's always fun to learn some words here and there, but I never feel motivated enough to really make it a serious hobby I dedicate a lot of time to

@BearListens

Thank you!!! hmmm not sure actually probably spanish? lol already new year i still have idea lol really busy with uni lol 🙂🤣

@HealerRecel02 Buena suerte aprendiendo Espanol! :)

@BearListens

Thank you! wow idk you know spanish lol😆

@HealerRecel02 Keep us posted on your progress! :)

@BearListens  I think I know that one!  Does it say:  "Good luck in learning Spanish!" ?  -iendo is the ending for "ing" or for future tense?? 

We could have a learning another language club here at 7cups! :)  I would SO be there.  hehe :) Platy 

@cyanPlatypus6370 Do we already have a language club or forum here? I missed it, if so! And yes, you were exactly correct about what my Spanish sentence meant - even the suffix bit, which is the equivalent to -ing!

@BearListens

Hm I understand what you feel🥲

@BearListens

Swimming more. Stress has been catching up to me lately and going for a swim is one of the few things that genuinely makes me feel relaxed. I don't know why the words turned red, but yeah. Swimming is something I want to do more of this year. 

@JollyRacher Swimming - now that's impressive! I don't hear about or think about swimming everyday! I'm glad it makes you feel relaxed too! Also, it's a great workout!! I don't know how to swim, so I'm missing out a lot, but even so, being in the water - whether it's a pool or the ocean, it's always so exciting too!

@JollyRacher If it means anything to you, your words look the same color as everyone else's from here.

@slowdecline48 Yep! Looks normal to me too! Thanks for commenting on that

I get lonely fast, Im really wanting go be better at occupying my time, keeping my mind busy. I did some improv in my last semester of school, it was fantastic, definitely want to do that again, gonna try to write some stand up too. I want to find a place to play basketball or squash. Im gonna start coding too, make some apps. This ones a little out there, but I want to make a digital clock too. ***, I might start growing bonsai trees😂. Really want to keep my mind busy in the new year, have things to look forward to. The last six months since finishing school Ive been a lump, and its sucked

@Schvitzy You have SO much going on, I love it! I've always aspired to be the kind of person who has a lot of hobbies and interests - there's just so much to appreciate in life, why limit ourselves, you know? Concerning your loneliness, I hope you're able to satisfy that directly with some meaningful connections too - while having hobbies and interests can help in what I imagine is indirectly. I can't say for sure though, and we're all different, but if you'd like to make connections as well, I'd LOVE to see that happen for you too! :)

Ah, I don’t have anything going on, Ive got a handful of very entry level skills that I want to utilize, but I don’t have anything going on. Its all a distraction, its not addressing anything, I hate my job, my romantic life is endlessly frustrating, my social life is not horrible but its not nearly bridging that gap and Im just hoping finding a few things to do on the side’ll keep my mind busy enough to be relatively positive in the moment and maybe give me a few things to prop myself up on for a little while until I can find something legitimate. Frankly Im grasping at straws, no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I reach out, my phone never buzzes unprompted, and it is frustrating as ***, its the same on the job front and romantic front too, its not going to change though I will keep trying, I might as well find some things I can control and do them often enough that I can sustain myself on that relatively small amount of joy. Sorry for the dump, happy new year!

@Schvitzy No need to apologize - all "dumps" are welcome haha :) It sounds like you have a lot on your plate emotionally, and I totally get where you're coming from, especially concerning romance, friendships and work life - or the lack thereof in my case, rather. It's not a great place to be, and I'm sorry you're going through this all. I'm impressed and proud of you for recognizing that despite this hard time as well as the negative emotions that may arise as a result (and may even cloud your judgment), you've recognized that it's important to address things within your control - it sounds like a great approach! Concerning romance, friendships and work life, how do you see things going in the short term and in the long term? I'd love for things to improve in those regards too. And thank you for sharing, by the way, especially considering how personal this all is! 

@BearListens, thanks for the kind words, it sounds like you deal with a but if the same, Im sorry. As far as work goes, Im working a job that I worked in the summers while I was a student. I got it during COVID, it was difficult to find work then, I was scouring the internet like a madman and couldn’t find anything, but I needed to pay tuition, my dad got me this job at the company he works for, I never wanted it, but it was either take it or make pennies on the dime mowing lawns for the summer, Ive always felt like crap about it, but Ive never been able to find anything else. I do believe by now that I am there because of my performance, that they wouldn't have offered me a full time role for no reason, but it still bothers me, I hat this connection culture, I hate more how I perpetuate it, and god am I underutilized. Ive been searching all of 2023, Ive sent out in excess of 500 applications, I have had 3 interviews, no offers, I haven't got half a jack *** of a clue as to whether or not this’ll change in the short or long term, the odds aren't with me, but at least I am working and can afford to live, maybe I should stop complaining about it. I largely have, Ive taken a step back the last few months, realizing the market is a joke, and I have kind of a dream opportunity in the works right now, which is exciting, I am hopeful but not optimistic, 0/500+. Romantically its been a long story of exclusively rejection, nothing especially jaw dropping, just repetitive, and the more it happens, god what Id give to have someone under my arm. Ive put a lot of work into myself this past year, really focusing, not on changing, put better projecting the things that I love about myself, being more outgoing, and Ive felt the results of it, Im getting more laughs than ever with friends, women, but still the results aren't there. Theres a girl that Ive become close friends with that, god, the crush I have on her is borderline debilitating, the way I feel around her is just unlike anything Ive ever felt before, not that Ive had a lot of feelings in my life, and she just brings out the best in me, Ive never felt so enjoyed like that, so enjoyed for my genuine person, and by someone I so respect and enjoy. I know for a fact she has at least at one point had similar feelings towards me, I confessed my feelings, she just has a lot on her plate, which is true, almost a nuts amount of things, and doesnt have time to “give me what I deserve.” Jesus, how much closer can you get, eh? I know shes right, things wouldn't work out, Id get frustrated, *** Im frustrated now with the amount of contact I have with her, but it wouldn't take much to improve on how things are now, and Im always of the mind “why not at least try?” but shes under a lot of stress, I love that shes willing to tell me about it, its not a cut and dry thing. Ive really struggled to set that aside, Ive been hitting the dating apps again, but no one is willing to give you half a jack *** of effort on those things, I got frustrated with that, again, and stopped for a bit, I dont see a reason anything would change in the near term, Im not in the right headspace, but maybe she frees up, maybe I meet someone in one of these activities I want to do, that has substance, that gives a ***, theres things to be optimistic about, Im just stuck now. As far as socially, Ive got right now the best set of friends Ive ever had. High school I had no friends, people avoided me like a plague, still dont know why, but through university I managed to cobble together a small group of good friends, and they are good friends, Im just depending on them for an unrealistic amount of emotional support/connection, when really, your good dude friends from university are really only good for a laugh and a little bit of “shes the problem dude, keep at it bro.” Thats not gonna change, thats about as good as its gonna get, and as good as most would reasonably expect it to be, the problem is trying to prop yourself up on it entirely when the reality is you just *** need a girlfriend. Thanks for reading that if you did, if you liked my last dump, this is quite a bit more than a dump and a half.

@BearListens I don't think this is a hobby but I'm going to try to take as many courses as I can in self improvement, I started a improving you're emotional awareness course today so I feel like I'm starting January on the right foot

@amusingWest5360 Hobby or not, these courses sound like a BIG step in the right direction, and I'm glad that you're going to be growing because of them :) You got this! 

@BearListens hey, ive been meaning to do some Exploring into photography for fun📷 because  Capturing moments seems exciting, and I want to try creating my visual stories. for me Understanding camera settings and framing seem like a cool new thing to learn. Maybe even start a small photo blog because Sharing moments could be cool. but then i'm just so lazy and am procrastinating even my college work. 

@bubblegumFlute4326 I totally get where you're coming from when you speak on procrastination - it's something I'm hoping to change about myself now that I'm on break from classes and have the time to as a result. Concerning photography, I think that's awesome! I think documenting life is SO important as well as telling its story or telling stories in general. I'd love to see you become a master of the camera and see you share your art with the world :)

@BearListens hey, thanks so much. i hope you and i both are able to cope with our struggles of procrastination for the better. ☺️

@bubblegumFlute4326 If I find anything useful and anything that works for me personally, I'll let you know!

@BearListens sure, that sounds good. thanks so much.

I'd really like to get into making art, like sketching and painting, or even just practicing really basic stuff.

Would also like to start reading more books on a frequent basis.

@DitaBear ah, relate to the books. I'm trying to read more non-fiction though for knowledge (lol) 😆

@VIVI1989 LOL I'm the same with non-fiction!

@DitaBear What kinds of books are you into? I find reading hard to get into personally because a lot of books for adults use a lot of language I can't quite understand haha. If it's not that, then it's not really knowing where to start that gets in the way - there's so many genres to choose from! Do you have any recommendations for someone like me with little reading experience?

How much time have you spent in the past - if at all, with the drawing and painting?

@BearListens I really like a lot of fantasy type stuff.  Was thinking of getting into the classics as well.  Or even just things like comics/manga would be nice.

I remember when I was in 3rd grade, our teacher had his friend/assistant come over and read to us.  The 2 books he got to read to us were The Wizard of Oz and Frankenstein.  I'd love to go and read those again.  We had a blast listening to him!  Plus I love the movies based off of them, so I guess I would recommend those 2 😊

I used to try to draw when I was a kid.  I think I want to go back and redo the basics though because I think I was going ahead of myself trying to draw people and such in an attempt to impress my former friends, and now I just want to learn for the sake of learning.  I don't have much experience painting other than school projects.

@DitaBear You know, I've never read many classics like The Wizard of Oz OR Frankenstein, so you know what? I just might have to!! Thanks for the suggestion! Not only would it be a fun read, I'd also finally feel like I'm not living under a rock anymore haha. Unrelated but related - I also haven't seen a lot of classic movies either.

I DID read a manga recently which was a blast! I feel like manga and anime are so easy for me to go down a rabbit hole into though, so I have to read and watch those in moderation haha. Very easy to binge read and watch!!

Concerning what you said about drawing - I'm really impressed by how you realized that when you were younger - you say you got a bit ahead of yourself and wanted to impress your friends and how now, you'd like to approach things differently. I think that sounds like a great new approach and I hope to hear about both the drawings and how the process is going getting back into it :)

@BearListens

I'm looking at starting to crochet again; I used to crochet a lot back in 2020 when Covid was around, and I began getting really good at it, but had to stop as I have no time anymore :( I'd love to start again. I'd also like to start attending a training program for youth work with a charity I volunteer for :) 

@izzyy528 I hope you'll be able to do it! I also crochet : ), it's nice to find someone here that does haha

@VIVI1989

It's great to finally find another teen who also crochets - it's pretty rare hehe!