A Lost Hobby

Is there something that makes you feel calm, passionate, joyful, and creative? If yes, congratulations! I am sure you must have some hobbies that make you happy. I also had a hobby like that, but a long-lost one.

Recently, I was preparing for our moving to the east coast. So I decided to organize our belongings, only keeping the necessary ones and sell or donate the stuff we don’t need.

Then I found my Canon 600D in a drawer. A camera I have not used since my last time moving. I bought it ten years ago. It is so out of fashion, not user-friendly, and very heavy when compared to our smartphones. So I thought, what is the point to keep it if I just carry it from one place to another when moving and set it still in a closet. I immediately posted it on OfferUp, a platform where people sell their unwanted items. Soon, some people were contacting me and offering their price. I made a deal with a gentleman who wanted to pick it up the next day.

Finally, I have a chance to clean up the SD card, I told myself. While I was transferring pictures from the SD card to my computer, all the memories just flashed through my mind.

I remember how passionate I was about photography. I bought this camera when I was a college student. I gathered money from my scholarship and sponsorship from my parents and boyfriend. It cost me more than 6000 RMB, which was a lot for me when I was in college. Then I joined a photograph club in school. We would take an old green train to different places just for taking pictures. I would stand under a tree for hours to get a nice photo of the blooming flowers or a red maple leaf. I would also bring my camera while hiking in the mountain to capture the view and take pictures of some tiny plants.

I also remember taking a photoshop class and edit my photos in some creative ways. I even printed some of the pictures and made them into postcards, and sell them. I took this camera from Yunnan to Nanjing, to Davis, to Beijing, and Riverside. It has recorded my life in the past ten years.

All those wonderful memories made me feel sad to sell this camera. It was my passion and some part of my youth. I realize that I had to cancel the deal.

Yesterday, I took my camera with me again when we were hiking and searching for wildflowers. It reminded me of the feeling of the old times when we can use a camera to find surprises along the way. Taking pictures with a smartphone has made our travel more convenient, but it will never be the same as taking photos with a real camera.

Sometimes, we just need those old belongings to remind us who we once were, what we were passionate about. Although I have never become a professional in photography, I still treasure the experience when I had something that made me calm, joyful, and creative. Do you have a lost hobby? What’s that?