New Hobbies - By Grace McDonough

I think a lot of initial reactions to the idea that we might all be quarantined inside our homes for an extended period of time was fear of boredom. So many people were complaining about not being able to see their friends and quickly felt a little stir crazy trapped at home. For me, I didn't really struggle with that. My siblings came home, making us a household of five for the first time since 2013. They've been entertaining, to say the least. However, I realized that all of this time could be put to excellent use. I learned a hobby!

Origami!

The work desk I've been using to complete my online classes everyday is in my basement, next to my dad's desk and my sister's desk. We're like a small collection of cubicles. Learning to just sit still was a process for me, and I realized I could prevent antsy-ness by focusing on something, and that was the traditional art of paper folding. I don't why I started doing origami specifically, I just knew it spoke to me on a deep and personal level. An artist is never done learning new techniques, I suppose.

There is so much to origami that I never even knew about. Everyone has seen a paper crane--which have perfected--but the amount of things that can be created with just a simple sheet of paper is staggering! It was daunting, but I eventually conquered the basics. I'd have to attribute my newfound passion to @thelilasianthatcould on Tiktok. She makes a bunch of easy-to-follow tutorials for even the most nightmarish of folds.

Here are just a few things I've made so far, and I don't plan to stop anytime soon!




These two pictures are actually the same piece! It's called a transforming ninja star. I actually already knew how to make these from summer camp, but still kinda cool. I made these from sticky notes.





This next one is a spinning top. I love how it's actually functional. The whole thing is made from 3 sticky notes.





These things are called kusudamas. Kusudamas are made from extremely versatile paper units. You can basically make anything with these units, but here is just two basic models. The big one is 30 sticky notes, and the small ones are 3 each.


I have more, but those are my most interesting creations thus far. My mom's birthday was a few days ago, so I made her a little paper box full of paper stars and a 3D birthday card. Maybe I'm taking this too far. However, making this stuff has been so fulfilling and a great way to avoid boredom. I literally just sit down and fold paper while watching TV. So, the takeaway here is that you should most definitely pick up a new hobby while you can.