Teenage years are the time in our lives when we assimilate the most everything around us, and we shape ourselves. Our personality, our preferences, our hobbies, our opinions, pretty much everything that is subjective and that we can call “ours” blooms and gets set in stone in the years when we make the transition from childhood to adulthood. This is why many of the choices we make at that time have a great impact on us, and they can even potentially change our lives forever.
Why would hobbies be any less? In a time when we feel so passionately about everything we love and hate, there’s no better time to engage in an activity and thoroughly perfect it. If we make the right choice, it might even play a pivotal part in our development as people. Here are 10 Hobbies For Teens That Could Change Their Life.
#1 Photography
Photography is one of those activities that people don’t necessarily wish to pursue further as a career, choosing to keep it at the level of a hobby. This is because it’s simply so personally satisfying. By taking up photography as a hobby, teens will be able to develop a keener eye to fine details and tap into their artistic side.
#2 Writing
Writing is a very popular hobby these days especially because of the multitude of branches it’s expanded through. Teens can write creatively (poems, short novels, stories) or they can take a more cynical approach and start a blog with reviews or a website with articles. Writing helps improve communication skills, boosts creativity, and increases vocabulary.
#3 Yoga
Trying to imagine a teenager motionless and contorted in a yoga pose seems like an almost surreal task, which is precisely why they could really use it. Yoga and meditation work wonders for the body and for the mind and, given how much teenagers tend to stress themselves with school, relationships, and family, yoga could really help them get a better grasp of their emotions.
#4 Reading
Strange, isn’t it? Reading has become less and less a common activity, but it’s possible even for people who don’t normally enjoy it to really get into it. All that’s required is a decent dose of patience. Start slowly and read short stories, reviews, or articles. Afterward, gradually increase the length of your lectures. Reading improves memory, focus, critical thinking, and vocabulary.
#5 Cooking
There is a certain sense of responsibility that comes with cooking. And if you happen to enjoy it too, that’s even better! Starting to cook at an early age is going to improve organizing skills, attention, multi-tasking, and it will also really come in handy when they eventually move to a college dorm. They’ll be really happy that they know how to prepare more than a packet of ramen.
#6 Bird Watching
Bird watching is a costless, harmless, and effortless activity. Doesn’t it sound tempting already? Observing the little, winged creatures carry on with their mundane tasks is guaranteed to make anyone more observant of the world around them.
#7 Play an Instrument
There are many benefits to knowing how to play an instrument. First, it’s incredibly awesome. Who doesn’t feel just a little bit jealous of people who know how to strum a guitar or play the piano? And secondly, it’s proven to improve brain-hand coordination, and it raises IQ both in adults and children by an average of seven points.
#8 Play Chess
Chess is the ultimate game of the mind, so it’s only natural that practicing it as a hobby is guaranteed to polish your psyche. Because chess players need to work with both hemispheres of their brains, they get a boost in memory and strategic thinking. It’s also effective on a long-term level because it’s almost sure that people who play chess tend to be more careful and calculated with their decisions.
#9 Own a Pet
Pets can’t really be considered a hobby, but given how they’re a constant in your life, they might as well count as one. Teenagers can learn responsibility and form an interpersonal bond with animals with the help of a pet in a household. You can start off slow and gift them a bowl with a goldfish. Having to regularly feed and care for a pet is going to make them pay more attention to schedules.
#10 Play Sports
We saved the elephant in the room for last, but we all know that practicing a sport is one of the main activities recommended for any child or teenager. Have them join a sports team and they’ll be able to learn about teamwork, communication, coordination, and they will also stay fit and healthy while doing it.
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