Hello everyone!

I have a lot of interests, but I would not say I have a lot of "hobbies". Until recently I probably would not have even claimed this as a hobby. I fought it for a long time, but at this point in my life I fully embrace it.

Video games are something that have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I received an original NES for Christmas when I was 8 or 9 and that was it, I was hooked. When I think about my childhood as whole, I can probably break it up into corresponding systems or games I was playing at the time.

Things are a little different now, my relationship to "gaming" is very different than it was when I was young. My approach (read justification) is very different. I see video games as a positive thing and something that is good for you if done in moderation. For me, I am a worrier by nature and it is very hard for me to "shut off". Video games are one of the few things that allow me to "shut off" and still occupy my mind, if that makes sense.

I love strategy and figuring things out, video games are a fun way to do that on a pretty high level. My current obsession is fighting games and lately I have been digging into the more intricate aspects of the games. At a high level, they are very similar to a chess match. It is all about trying to force your opponent to make a mistake you can capitalize on. Team strategy in something like Overwatch (#DivaSucks) is always interesting. Playing through something like Uncharted, The Witcher or Farcry is like an interactive movie. There are a ton of options and variety to suite whatever interests you. For me personally a couple hours of video games on the weekend clears my head and leaves me refreshed come Monday morning. 

Art and music are two things that have always intrigued me. I took an art class during the summer of 08 while I was still in High School. What can I say, I felt in love with it. Not sure what happened, but that same passion for art that I developed in that class died the day summer school ended.  

It still amazes me how someone can create a melody that they have never heard of before, or paint something that they’ve never seen with their own eyes. I’ve always desired to have that type of creativity in my life, but the truth is that I just never really committed to it. I guess maybe a part of me believed that creativity was something you were born with, just like a talent. Regardless, a few months ago I decided to give art another try, and just like that, a new passion grew up in me. Like Denzel Washington once said on his commencement speech at the University of  Pennsylvania “To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did”.  

I first dove into digital art and started to learn the basics of it. The interesting part was that while I was still learning the basics of digital art, photography also sparked an interest in me. At that point I also decided to learn about photography. Now that I know the basics of digital art and photography, I started to practice them and I couldn’t be any more excited. 

A year ago I would have never imagined that I would develop a passion for digital art and photography. Here I am now with a weekly schedule of an hour a day either practicing photography, digital art, or Photoshop. These two new hobbies helped me discover something about art that I didn’t know before. It made me realize that creativity is not necessarily something you are born with, but something that comes through experience and practice. I’m not going to sit here and write that my pictures and drawings are now masterpieces, but I got to admit, they are a little less crappy compared to when I started a few weeks ago. In the end, it doesn’t matter how good you are at your hobby, you just have to make sure you truly enjoy doing them!

I was first introduced to weightlifting back in college by a couple of my friends where they would drag me there whenever they went. In the first year or two, I was not consistent at all and how often I went would depend on my class schedule and if my friends were going during my free time. After graduating college (I no longer had a gym membership), it wouldn't be until a year later until I got back into in gym and that's when I regained my passion for it as it allowed me to take my mind off from the outside world and to focus on my "me time". Needless to say, I have been going consistently since then and it has become my second home.