I’m often told I don’t have a life. Between work and university, I find it difficult to find time to do other things. Like having a life. I don’t particularly mind studying as I enjoy it. But I do think people have a point in saying that I should be trying to do other stuff in my life.

I bought myself a Flip-style video camera a few years ago before I went on a holiday to Sydney. It was great for capturing memories, but the camera never got much of a workout for a while. Then for some unknown reason, I picked it up one day and did my first mobile vlog (I had made two before this with my Mac’s iSight).

I’ve made a few vlogs since. Not many, and I normally tend to either make them about Christmas lights or have someone else in the vlog. It’s not much, but it is a start.

My most recent vlog got me thinking “I should do this more”. While my psychology friends would probably see this as an attention seeking move, I have different reasons for thinking that I should be trying to vlog more.

I think doing vlogging helps me get more confident with talking to people I am not close with; this is something I still have trouble with to this day, even though I’ve had plenty of exposure through work and study. I know YouTube is sort of a one-way communication platform, but it’s definitely not easy to just talk to yourself and a camera like a total freak!

Vlogging also provides an opportunity for me to be a little creative. I’m normally an extremely structured person (ask any of my friends). I don’t do creativity normally; it’s far too freeform a type of activity. By engaging in a much more flexible and (I guess) ill-defined pastime, I get to try something different and do something out-of-the-ordinary (well, at a personal level).

Finally, it is a chance to connect. There are billions of people with a trillion stories to share. I don’t see a point of having experiences and not sharing them with others. It is how we learn and grow. I want to be a part of that.

What do you do for a hobby? Why do you like that activity?

Remember, sharing is caring!