Back in mid-February, my day had started like any other. I woke up, walked over to Smith Hall and walked into the Dead Podcaster’s Society clubroom. What made that day different was a box on one of the tables. It was a blue box stylized like a comic book. The front and inside revealed it to be a model kit of a Batmobile variant. I finally checked my phone for the first time that morning and saw an email from a professor. The model kit had been in his house for twenty years, and for twenty years, he had yet to put it together. After seeing all the Gundam model kits I posted on my Facebook, he thought I’d be the best option to finally put it together. I proudly took up the task but had to hold off on it because I didn’t have all the necessary tools. Thus, on Valentine’s Day (which you should read my other opinion piece about), I picked up the final remaining tools alongside some new models.
The next week, I had settled in for that Sunday and wanted to save the Batmobile model for later in the week, maybe even next week. Well, let me tell you something, Buster. I don’t talk about my mental health a lot, but believe me when I say that on Monday, I was in a dark place. I’ve never been more stressed out in my life than I was that Monday. It was a regular Monday, but there are a few classes I am taking that make me think thoughts that make people wonder how I am holding on. And I’ll tell you why I was able to hold on: It’s because of my dang hobby. That night, I was ready to scream and cry because I couldn’t take it anymore. As a student with ADD/ADHD, keeping a schedule is very hard, which, in turn, makes it really easy for me to get overwhelmed. Just writing this article alone, I curled up and cried because I had to finish five other assignments. Not really. I got all my work done beforehand, but we need some comedy here.
Back to that Monday night. I was panicking. I was so overwhelmed I hated everything; I was very depressed, and I couldn’t focus. Suddenly, my eyes wander over to the corner of my room. There it was: the 2002 Johnny Lightning 1960s Batmobile die-cast model based off the comic version inspired by the television series version because they couldn’t secure the rights to the version from the old television series. I thought to myself, “It wouldn’t hurt if I took a crack at this. Just one or two hours. Then I’ll sleep.”
I finished the whole kit. Even made a stop-motion animation of it. From 9 p.m. to midnight, I toiled over that model. I learned how to adjust from the snap-fit Gundams to the less-than-easy-to-read Johnny Lightning kits. I learned how to use model cement to keep everything together. I also used a lot of super glue because my professor had lost the screw holes. My fingers were covered in paint from where I painted the interior of the car. I remember leaning back admiring my handiwork, but most importantly, my entire week had been solv
ed. All my worries washed away; I could think clearly for once. It was the perfect evening. In fact, that week was one of my most productive weeks yet because I found time for myself.
Now, I do apologize that this isn’t some magical opinion that carries some newfound substance. This piece really is to remind you to find a hobby. I consider myself a hobbyist. If I’m notbuilding a Gundam model kit, I’m playing a video game. If I’m not playing a video game, I’m reading a book. If I’m not reading a book, then my buddies from my campus ministry group have convinced me to go Pokemon Card shopping. Just to prove where I’m going with this, and because this is news, so I need some facts, Harvard Health Publishing published an article in 2024 titled, “Having a Hobby Tied to Happiness and Well-Being,” discussing a 2023 research article by “Nature Medicine.” In the study, 96,000 people from 16 countries were followed for 4-8 years and polled about their mental health. While the article said because the study was observational, it didn’t prove hobbies were key to mental health, the researchers still found people who claimed to have a hobby were more likely to be happier than those who didn’t.
I just want to remind you that as we finish this semester, it’s going to get harder. Life will suck, and you’ll want to curl up and scream. I know I can’t function without structure, and this semester has challenged that structure. Now, there are specific things to remember. A hobby is a very creative endeavor. Sitting and scrolling through your phone watching TikTok is not a hobby, but learning to make content for TikTok is a hobby. Hobbies are all about being creative and finding enjoyment in life.
For a midterm, I wrote about why I build model kits. It all goes back to my need for structure and rules, but also my need for flexibility and freedom. Scale model building reminds me of that. A hobby reminds us of what is important to us as people. It lets us flex muscles we don’t use too often, and it gives us a new perspective on things. For me, my hobbies allow me to reassert myself in the box I am contained in. When I build a model, I follow the instructions, but I find ways to express myself. I’ll paint the thruster in chrome, or I’ll add color detail that was missing from the figure initially. For me at least, my hobbies are about reminding myself that my best work isn’t when I think outside of the box. It’s when I push the rules and boundaries and make the box bigger. It’s reclaiming the structure that I need to function in. I want you to find a hobby that brings you happiness because it’ll go a long way, even if you can only enjoy it once a week; that once a week goes a long way. So please, when someone looks at you and tells you to get a hobby, ask them for recommendations.
Nolan Duncan can be contacted at [email protected]
