The importance of hobbies

As a child, did you have a hobby or interest that you wanted to pursue – something that you wanted to learn or experience, but an adult in your life convinced you to take ballet over karate, to take piano lessons instead of violin?
Recently, I spoke with an adult who said that as a child, they had loved art and wanted to be an artist - but a family member had told them that there was "no future" in art.
Maybe they were right – artists aren't precisely known for their wealth – but the comment burrowed under that child's skin and stuck. And it wasn't until that person was older that they finally embraced their passion for art and creating.
Too often, adults lead children away from things that the adults don't perceive as profitable, or that they think that child isn't particularly good at.
But that's ignoring the great benefits that come with having a hobby you engage in solely for the fun of it, or one that you must really work hard to master.
Growing up, I was an avid reader; our home was always full of books and I had regular access to the local public library. I could check out seven books a week from our small, rural library and by the next week's trip, I'd finished them all.
My love for reading also came with a desire to tell people about the books I'd read, and many a morning I'd follow my mom around the house, pitching my newest read to her.
In an effort to give me an outlet (and her a break), she convinced me to start reviewing my books. I launched a blog and wrote my opinions, wrote about content warnings and 'starred' each book.
This review process developed into new realms, and by age 16, I was reviewing professionally for other young adults at the behests of four or five different publishers. They'd send me free books, I'd review them, and they'd send me more.
I wasn't making money, but I learned much from contacting publishers, interacting with authors and writing down my thoughts and opinions – I learned sets of skills that I use in my job as a reporter today.
As kids grow up, they learn life skills through hobbies: pageants teach presentation skills and public speaking, building forts in the backyard teaches problem-solving and construction, art teaches creative thinking and memorization of imagery, writing to pen-pals teaches handwriting and English. I could go on and on – learning isn't just something to do in the classroom. Kids (and adults) learn from hobbies.
Those hobbies need to be allowed to flourish, even if the child's hobbies never result in a money-making profit.
A person's hobbies are essential, it makes us who we are and fosters the person who we will become.
It's negligent, as adults, to convince a child out of their hobbies – because it thwarts them from developing, learning and becoming their genuine selves.