How I Reconnected with my Hobbies

I was excited when I first moved to Vancouver. I looked forward to exploring a new city and seeing what it had to offer me. However, as the months went by, I realized that I had dropped almost all my old hobbies. Whether it was because I lost the facilities, money– mostly money– or time, I was restless, my days monotonous, and I knew I needed a change. But as a broke university student, where would I even begin?

I started with where I went almost every single day: my university, which surprised me with what it had to offer. The school had countless activities and clubs to participate in. I fell in love with going to figure drawing every Friday. I had lost time to draw due to the demands of my major, so I was happy to find something to help me draw consistently. It was also a nice way to wind down at the end of the week, and I made some lasting friendships. The Vancouver Public Library – a.k.a the VPL – offers lots of services too. Of course, it has books, but did you know that they also have musical instruments you can borrow? It satisfied my desire to play music and saved my wallet as I didn’t have to buy a whole instrument to try it out. However, I think the best thing was discovering the Hillcrest Community Centre. Skating was a big part of my life growing up, but I had to give it up after high school. To say the least, it’s an expensive sport. I didn’t realize how affordable it was at Hillcrest Rink until a friend invited me.

After nearly three years here, I hadn’t even known it existed. Now, I skate almost every Sunday for just $12 and that’s including rentals. Reconnecting with a childhood hobby has helped me feel more at home in the city – especially on a budget.