On being a hobby hopper

Last night I went and scrolled back through my Instagram all the way to the very first post. And my conclusion when I finally reached that quiet hello to the world seven years ago: Wow, I’ve made a lot of neat things. And I’m glad I shared snippets along the way.

2019: I started the account as a postcard account, a place to document my postcards as they left my collection into the hands of friends and strangers. I posted a postcard every day for about a month, including from a work trip overseas. I broke the format of just a postcard photo (remember when IG was just photos?) with one of a postage stamp of Notre Dame, after the fire. Then more postcards, but with occasional journal spreads. There was a short exploration of stop motion animation, but still mostly postcards, stationery, and paper art.

2020: Exactly six years today this day, I watched a music video on YouTube. It was Dynamite. And when those CG powder fireworks exploded at the key change of the song, something altered in my brain chemistry. Before I knew what was happening, I was making art inspired by BTS. And the rest is history 😀

2021-22: What followed were several years of almost exclusively BTS-inspired creativity and content. And unfortunately, that marked the dark age here on my blog, as my BTS journals and YT videos took over my doodle calendars and other art and writing.

2023-24: 2023 was the first full year of my reading crazy voraciously, as was also the start of my life sabattical. In 2024, I discovered bookstagram and reading journals, and my book journal became my chief creative outlet that year. With the occasional drawing of a toddler or two.

2025: Felt myself pulled towards visual journaling and sketching again. Also from June to December I got really into Formula 1, but for the record, *not* because of the F1 movie. (It was because of Drive to Survive a few weeks earlier, thank you very much.)

2026: I enter my fiber arts era. I wish I could remember why I decided to learn to crochet, but most likely I was influenced by online content somewhere. And that’s where we are today: crocheting and sewing and watching birds.

My Instagram has gone through many an evolution (niche? we don’t know her), but I think from a glance you can see I like making things. I’ve definitely not logged my 10,000 hours in any one practice, but I’m okay with that. 2019 me would never have guessed present-day me would find genuine enjoyment in looking for birds and crocheting granny squares. So that makes me excited about what future me will find to love.

Poor JK’s premium photo is currently buried behind my yarn

(Friday Night Writes #8)