See, back in college, I knew how to have a good time. I would hit the town with the girls (Aggieville is the “town” I’m talking about, if any of you are familiar with Manhattan, Kansas), every weekend and we would meet new friends and have a good time. But, nowadays I can go to a bar with some teammates and enjoy a couple drinks, but I can’t remember the last time I was out past 2am.
I feel like when you’re in college and enjoying the young adult life, it’s easy to work for every weekend. At least for me, when I was in college it was a cycle. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were for talking about last weekend, catching up with the girls about what they did and how nights turned out after we all went our separate ways. Wednesdays and Thursdays turned into planning out the weekend to come: what we were going to wear, where we were going to go, and who we were going to see. And then, of course, Friday and Saturdays were the days I was living for, you know, well-deserved days off. We could do whatever we wanted. Sunday would come around and the cycle would repeat.
Some version of that cycle played on repeat for a good four years for me and now that I’m at the old age of 22, graduated college, and have a big girl job, all I ever want to do on my time off is lay in bed, crochet, maybe watch a good movie or show, and do everything in my power to feel rested and restored for the new work week.
I know that at Kansas State there were many great sources to figure out what you want to do and who you want to be after the ball stops bouncing. Maybe it helps for those who don’t become professional athletes after college, but for me, I kind of always knew that I was going to hit the volleyball a couple more times after graduation. So, in one ear and out the other were those conversations about how I was going to feel after I was done playing, because I knew I had a couple good years in me. But, what I didn’t realize was that even though I was still playing my sport, my life was going to still change in some ways. I was no longer a student athlete anymore, just an athlete.
For the first month playing overseas right after college, I began a new cycle of eat, sleep, volleyball, eat, sleep, wake up, do it again. After college, I didn’t have hobbies, I wasn’t looking for things to do during my off time, I was simply waiting for my schedule to drop so I knew when I could nap. I guess that worked for me, until I realized that is such a lousy way to live.
So, after some reflecting, I began the process of searching for some hobbies, and I found that I love the hobbies that your grandma might like doing as well. For starters, crocheting. Something about creating a project will really get me going. Next, reading, which is getting more popular as the days go by. I do have a dream of joining or starting an old fashion book club where a group meets once a week and talks about the chapters read. Also, (maybe not a hobby, but I enjoy doing) I love meeting up with the girls to catch a meal or coffee at a cute meet up spot. I specifically remember going to the mall with my grandma when I was really young and we would meet up with some of her sisters and they would just talk and talk and talk. No phones, no shopping, no schedule to go by, just sit and yap. I love that stuff.
So, even though I’m young and some may even consider me “hip”, I’m just a girl that loves hanging out and doing grandma hobbies. And there is nothing wrong with that 🙂
Aliyah’s Experience 