A&E
Hobbies Spark Personal Growth
Photo by Michael Rivera
Discovering yourself and what you would like to pursue in the future could be difficult because it requires time and effort. However, by stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new activities in and out of school, you may discover your passion. Once you find it, you have a better idea of who you are. Your passion may lead to personal growth or insight into your future career.
Esther Pierre-Isaac, a senior at City on a Hill, says writing is her passion. Isaac has been writing ever since middle school, which she now does as a daily hobby. “This is my passion because I can express my thoughts on paper,” she said. Whenever Isaac writes, many ideas flow from her head through her fingers and pencil to the paper. Isaac found her passion by doing what she loves, reading every day. “Reading inspires me to write,” she said. “It gives me ideas that brings my feelings on a page to life.” Isaac uses inspiration from her own experiences to write mostly drama and adventure.
Writing allows Isaac to tell the world who she is. This is why Isaac would love to pursue writing in the future. “I would love to be a journalist. I would love to be an author because I want to share my stories with the world someday.”
Natalie Nguyen, a senior at John D. O’Bryant, loves to create art. “My passion is definitely driven in the musical direction as I am an aspiring singer/songwriter and performer. I love to use art as a way to express myself,” she said. Some of Natalie’s daily hobbies composes of drawing, singing and playing the piano. “I try to set aside at least 30 minutes to just play the piano and sing.”
Growing up, Nguyen was always surrounded by a variety of Vietnamese music. At the age of 8, she started getting more involved in music when she received her first piano. As she grew older, Nguyen began her music journey from discovering the world of music online, one being YouTube. Due to her exposure to music at a young age, Nguyen said “I knew that I definitely wanted to pursue music.”
When Nguyen creates art, she does it for the purpose of relating to people. “It is a way to let someone else out there, who is possibly going through a similar situation as me, know that they're not alone and that there's someone advocating for them.” Nguyen also creates art for herself because she feels at peace and safe when she does. “I feel like creating art takes away a lot of my stress because it helps me to calm myself down. Music is a space for me to just express my feelings without feeling judged.”