how to hobby your way out of a crisis
đ¸đ hey, you â aspiring hobbyist đ¸đ
dearest mfers,
The symptoms of burnout sometimes mimic the symptoms of depression, my therapist says every so often when I express a growing lack of motivation, trouble sleeping, and difficulty focusing. She mentioned it the first time in the weeks after I left my last job where I had managed to do the terrible thing of attaching my sense of self to my role as a host and writer there.
I knew I was burnt out when I left, but ironically, leaving made it worse. Suddenly I felt I had nothing, like I was nothing. I threw myself into what effectively became secondary employment: reminding people I existed through Instagram stories, feed posts, and TikTok videos.
I pretended I wasnât miserable for a year before I finally took a baby step back. I listened to Michaela Coelâs Emmyâs acceptance speech on repeat, thinking about what it means to be successful in an industry that moves on so quickly. âIn a world that entices us to browse through the lives of others to help us better determine how we feel about ourselves,â she began, âvisibility these days seems to somehow equate to success. Do not be afraid to disappearâfrom it, from usâfor a while, and see what comes to you in the silence.â
Going dark didnât feel like an option, but I did do some aggressive culling of both patterns and people in my life that made my heart drop and my shoulders curl. Crises of identity are so often fought in silence. I made a point to treasure shared experiences with people in my life. And I found hobbiesâworlds I could escape into that didnât necessarily feed back into the machine of online branding.Â
The theme of this weekâs starter pack is âhobby people,â inspired by Aliza Abarbanelâs essay about separating your identity from your work. Tell us about your hobbies in the comments!
all my love, mi-anne
Mushroom Block Grow Kit. Welcome to bog era! Growing oyster mushrooms in your kitchen is Walden Pond for the apartment-bound.
Wool and the Gang Knitting Sets. Writer Aliza Abarbanel dedicated an entire post of her own newsletter to knitting, aptly titled âLetâs Stitch and Bitch.â It has all the instructions needed to wiggle your way into the âknitting-is-my-brandâ subset of folks. If you buy a kit and then give up, you can still be a thotty knitwear hoe this summer with brands like A. Roege Hove, The Series, Yan Yan Knits, and the smattering of options on Etsy.Â
âSelf-Righteous About SPFâ: When shaming people into wearing SPF every day IS your hobby. Mi-Anne particularly likes the pink one from Glow Recipe (itâs grippy like a primer), this one from Supergoop (glowy!), and this one from Everyday Humans (the best body sunscreen ever made).
Should I start a zine?. Alt. âShould I start a newsletter?âÂ
D&D Beyond Player's Handbook. âThereâs nothing quite as soothing as pretending to be a mystical being for a few hours,â says art director Logan Tsugita. âWhether youâre looking to join or start a D&D campaign, or youâre simply a lore-loving nerd like me, the Playerâs Handbook is the answer.â
Pretty af origami paper. âMaybe not a thousand paper cranes, but a cootie catcher or a frog or two and you're back in the paper folding businessâa simpler time,â says social media editor Amalie MacGowan
Crusty Sourdough Starter. The crusty mason jar of sourdough starter your friend gave you at the start of the pandemic that you swear youâre going to use one day even though it is 100% dead. (See also: How to revive starter.)
Merrell Hydro Mocs. Bog era, but make it Fashion. Good for: pottery class, knitting on a park bench, and cosplaying as that sexy lobster fisherman on TikTok, says MacGowan
Etsy. The capitalist urge to monetize your hobby, a.k.a. the hobby to hustle pipeline.
i stole my boyfriends hobby and started bouldering lol. iâm not very good but it gets me out of the house!
Fantastic!