How to get into every hobby I like

Well, I do have quite a lot of hobbies, and I probably could turn this into a proper series, if I had enough inspiration to do so. But well, instead of that, I will just share a couple things, be it links, books, videos or whatever, that might be a good place to get you started into whatever hobby I talk about. However, I’m kind of lazy right now, so don’t expect much. I will just share some general advice if you want to get into it, and I’ll let you look for more information by yourself.

• Card Magic: The most important thing here is to understand the reason behind why magicians do what they do. It’s not about fooling or being better than you.¹ It’s about the art and amusement of both audience, and performer. With that in mind, learning the theory and techniques and performing well is one thing, and being the cool (or sometimes cringe) bigger cousin or uncle who can do card tricks to kids is the other. Both are perfectly respectable for me, as long as everyone has fun! To learn, I think books are the way to go, and this reddit thread is a good resource.

• Reading: I kind of already wrote about the way I read so I guess you can check that if you want? Honestly, for this one there’s no such thing as an advice that fits for everyone. Even I am having mixed thoughts nowadays. Do I read on my Kobo to focus on reading? Do I read on my phone for easy access? Do I just have to sit down and read something and push through any external distractions by sheer will? Who knows, set a goal that you feel you can reach, and stick with it. Check Standard Ebooks.

• Origami: For this one, simple. Learn the basics well, how to actually mark a fold properly, how to make a square from any kind of paper, and how to cut that square without scissors. Don’t worry about the quality of the paper, or anything like that. Watch tutorials from people who ask for permission to make them (origami is an art, and artists deserve credit), I recommend Jo Nakashima or Jeremy Shafer. Learn the different types of folds, and how to read diagrams, I like pajarita.org (in Spanish) for some free ones. Check my origami section.

• Gaming: Huh, well, you already know how to do this one, right? That’s right, buy a Miyoo Mini Plus.

• Linux: Get a USB drive, follow one of the countless tutorials telling you how to install Linux Mint and you’ll be good. Feel free to reach out if you do!

• Android Customization: Honestly getting into roms at this point doesn’t seem worth it but if you have a Pixel check Graphene or LineageOS. If you only care about customizing your phone aesthetically, you should probably install a launcher such as Lawnchair or Kiss Launcher and play around with it. And if you want pretty icons, check Arcticons and Delta Icon Pack.

• Web development: I have to admit, I don’t really think myself as a web developer at all, I pretty much only know all I do because of Linux and because I maintain a static website. So, I guess the real advice here is to start your own personal website and figure things out as you go along!

• Game Development: Well, this is a tricky one, because developing games involves not just programming, but graphic design, sound design, gameplay design and all of that. There are free resources out there, tools to create sounds, and other things. I recomment learning Godot Engine, because it’s what I got started with. I had a lot of free time during the pandemic and participated in plenty of game jams, some good tutorials are on YouTube, I think this one by Brackeys is nice.

• Piano & Guitar: Get someone in person to teach you honestly. I admit I am quite stagnant on these, I learned them years ago and still play them sometimes but I am no master at it and haven’t really sought to learn more.

• Speedcubing: I think that this video by J Perm is really good to get started, as long as you already know how to solve a Rubik’s cube! If you don’t, this other video will do. Learn fingertricks and proper movements and you should be good. Practice constantly but avoid burning out, don’t expect immediate results. Try to get other friends into it and evolve together!

Honestly, I love when people want to get into a hobby I like, so feel free to reach out if you have any interest on them, wether you already do them or want to get started. I really enjoy talking about them.

At first, this post was supposed to be a “I don’t know what to write about today, I’ll just share some of the ideas I had”, and the first one was this one, but I expected to take a lot of time looking things ups and finding resources online. In the end this idea was long enough to just be this separate post, and well, here we are.

I do have a couple of hobbys that weren’t listed in my About page and that I have learned more recently, like pixel art, graphic design and yoyoing, so I might write about those later. For now, have a good day!