Life in the 21st century is extremely demanding irrespective of age.

It doesn't really matter if you're a student, housewife, businessman, or a service class person, stress is there in your life and you cannot ignore the fact that it's something which is going to be there with you till the day your life ends. It's perfectly normal for people living in this era of modernization to get frustrated with work, studies, or just the idea of living "stress-free". In fact, according to a survey in America, 7 in 10 employed adults (70%) say work is a significant source of stress in their lives, which is also higher than the proportion of adults who cited this as a stressor in the 2019 survey (64%). (Source - https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2020/report )

Work-life balance is something which is one of the main causes of anxiety. This anxiety does not only affect the person who's experiencing it, but also affects his/her family and friends, or rather every person that he or she is related to. Similarly, the constant reminder of having future goals and success filled life has made the students of this generation go off the charts in terms of anxiety issues. So, what do we do with this? Just deal with it? The answer is no, it's high time we do something for ourselves and educate our children to do the same for themselves, i.e to get hobbies. Having hobbies can not only reduce stress level but also helps to nourish relationships in our lives, for when we do something for ourselves

I still remember, when I was 10 years old, I had this routine of playing cricket with my friends every evening. When I turned 12, I stopped playing cricket, bought a new cycle, and every evening from 5 pm till 7 pm I just used to do cycling and that was something which made me content. When I turned 14, I started playing football and kept changing my hobbies every year or every couple of years because it is supposed to be like that until a person finds his/her niche. Well, I surely believe that I've found mine and not just one, but four. Yes! I have four hobbies. If I have to list them down, then writing, traveling, singing, and cooking are personal getaway activities. Obviously, I am aware of the fact that I am not perfect at any of it because I am an amateur, I surely need mentors to shape my notions. So, I joined online cooking classes to enhance my cooking skills. Read other people's travel blogs to learn the art of exploring things and new places while traveling and now I have a plan to learn singing from a professional, for there's no age for learning things you love. 

Having hobbies at a growing age matters the most as our hobbies help us grow better physically and mentally. Carving out time for activities that we enjoy is a perfect way to release stress from our daily routine, but do you know what's even better? Having a mentor for our hobby or hobbies, learning from an expert is always advantageous because if you aspire to do something, do it with all you have and aim towards perfection, or else you're disrespecting yourself and your valuable time. Learn to take the road 'less traveled by'. ( Inspiration: Robert Frost's Poem - The Road Not Taken)

By Bharat rai