What Does It Mean to have Many Hobbies?

What Does It Mean to have Many Hobbies?


Recently, I have been revisiting some of my older hobbies, namely gray-lead pencil sketching and latte art.
But these are not the only hobbies I am into.
I can list, photography, videography, gardening, beer-tasting, homebrewing as just some of the hobbies that I am engaged in regularly.
But what does it mean to have a hobby? How engaged do you have to be in order for it to be a hobby?
In Japanese, the word for hobby (shumi: 趣味) is often used for an extracurricular activity that one immerses themselves into, almost obsessively.
But I wouldn't consider myself to be that level at all. So in Japanese at least, can my interests be really classified as hobbies?

When talking with my Japanese friends or introducing myself to Japanese acquaintances, I am often told that I am tashumi (多趣味: multi-hobbied).
In fact, this label or similar variants of it are also used by other friends.
In most cases, it used in praise of what I can do.
But I often feel a little ashamed of what I can do; more to the point, I am ashamed of what I can't do.

The thing about being multi-hobbied or multi-talented is that I do not invest in enough time in any of my hobbies for me to become good at them.
While I consider myself to be probably better than average in the hobbies that I do, none of what I can do is exceptional.
This is where the often quoted phrase, 'jack of all trades, master of none' seems to really apply to my situation.
So why do I get lauded for being multi-hobbied when in reality what I do probably doesn't deserve the praise that I receive?

I am fiercely jealous of those who have amazing talents in what they do. I see their works and wish that I could dedicate/commit myself to becoming that good.
I wish I had a talent that I could use to make money off. Being simply average is not good enough in this kind of World.
But it has been because of these reflections that I have learnt more about who I am.

I am not the type of person who can commit themselves to one thing.
My attention is always divided among many interests and hence I am always moving from one interest to the other.
This is why I cannot commit myself to one type of lifestyle.
In some ways, I think I am fated to spread my attention thin over a number of interests and never be exceptional at anything.
However, when I look at others who have, I am not jealous of their lifestyle. In fact I feel disappointed when I can't talk about various things with someone who is over-specialised in one field.
And it is this sentiment that leads me onto my next understanding of who I am.



I probably don't do my hobbies in the ambition of becoming good at any of them.
More than the outcome, it is the process that I derive my pleasure from.
I enjoy learning about the hobby I am engaged in and the calm that it gives me while I am immersed.
The act of engaging in one of my hobbies is almost therapeutic to me.



So while none of my hobbies on their own warrant any praise for being outstanding, I could not be any happier than when I am engaged in my interests, and I don't see this ending any time soon.

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Thanks as always.

Stef