Life after college graduation is not for the faint of heart. You go from consistency, community, a social life, and tons of friends, to having to start from scratch and rebuild the life you had. One of the best ways to start building your life again, is to find hobbies after college. Whether you are living at home, or on your own in a city where you don’t know anyone, starting a new hobby can help give you a purpose, meet new people, find a community where you belong, and/or build confidence in yourself.
Hobbies are just one of the key parts to building your dream life after college graduation. We’ll go through and break down how each one could contribute to improving your life.
Running
If you’ve already graduated college, I’m 99% sure you knew that running would be on this list. Running is an extremely popular option for a post grad’s hobbies after college. Running is a relatively low budget activity. You could put on athletic clothes, sneakers, and headphones, all of which you most likely have, and just go for a run. Running is popular for a few reasons. One, many people sign up for a race, normally a half marathon, then they have a goal. They’re filled with purpose and a strict deadline, of being able to run that long a distance, or hit their target time.
We’ve been trained to be deadline oriented since we started school, so it makes sense why this is one of many people’s hobbies after college. Also, you can’t ignore the fact that running is a lifelong activity, and it will keep your heart and body in great shape. Additionally, if you like running, you can join a local run club as a way to meet people.
But if you are not built for running, like I personally say I am, don’t fret, there are so many other hobbies for after college that can benefit you and your life!
Meditation
This is an underrated and completely free hobby that you can take up after college. All you need is a device and access to youtube or spotify, and you can meditate whenever you want. The only requirement for meditating is carving out the time and actually trying. Meditation might not seem that interesting to some people, but it is a practice of being present. Being present is vital to enjoying life, and not taking for granted what you have.
Mediation can help you become more comfortable with silence. So many people don’t realize that they dislike their thoughts and scroll for hours or binge TV to avoid them. Being more present helps you think about your thoughts. It helps you enjoy your own presence and can help you along the path to be your own bff. Meditation helps bring more gratitude and confidence into your life. You are by yourself way more during post grad than during college. So enjoying being by yourself is a vital skill to learn, and one of the best hobbies after college.
Join A Junior League
A great way to get involved in your community and meet other like minded people, is to join a local junior league. If you want more opportunities to give back, the junior league organizes events where you can volunteer. Junior leagues are normally filled with people of all ages, so you can learn from many different people who lived their lives in extremely different ways! Making friends with people older than you is always a blessing, if you want to become ‘like them’ one day.
Join A Sports League
If you played sports at any point during your school career, guess what, you still can! A great way to build community and do something you are passionate about, is to join a nearby league. There are leagues for nearly any sport you can think of, depending on how big the town or city you live in is. You could sign up for a tennis league, or a softball team, or golf, basketball, soccer etc.
Especially if sports or being active are important parts of your life, why not do more of it with people in your community?
Sign Up For A Class – intro to pottery, coding, sewing class
If you live in a fairly big town or city, take advantage of everything that you have around you for getting into a new hobby. I know often times, the public library of a town will put on free or low cost events to bring the community together. My library host low cost classes for beginners on how to sew and code. Look at your local library to see if there’s any classes of interest to you.
Additionally, see what kind of small businesses are in your area. You might be suprised with what they offer! I found a studio offering 7 week introduction to the pottery wheel classes. I loved it and now am in the process of signing up for my third set of classes! I’ve also tried adult dance classes while in NYC which were fun. From being online often, I’ve seen needlepoint grow into a massive trend. While there isn’t a needlepoint shop in my town, maybe there is near you, or there is for something you are more interested in.
Take inventory on what classes are around you that maybe you’d want to add to your hobbies after college. A class is a great way to get into a new skill since you get access to people with more experience who you can learn from as well as other people with the same idea as you!
Here is a list of other hobbies that I would be impressed if someone had:
Content creation Hobbies
Standup comedy: Not many people have comedic timing + the story telling ability to be funny!
Influencing / content creating: This can seem a little embarrassing at first but who cares? Could turn into a side hustle with some work.
Photography: One of my favorite hobbies. This shows you have an eye for aesthetics and beautiful things!
Blogging: Also me. This shows to me that you have some grit in order to write outside of school or work.
Artistic hobbies
Learning a new instrument: There’s something so rich feeling about knowing a such an intricate skill.
Drawing / painting: I love when people are in touch with their creativity.
Dance: I don’t understand how dancers move so gracefully! I completely understand having dance as a hobby because I also want to be able to move like a dancer.
Journaling: This is low cost and shows you’re at least trying to get in touch with your emotions. Bonus points if it’s decorated beautifly!
Thrifting: This can be low cost, depending on where you go, and allows you to develop your own personal style.
Learning a new language: I love learning new languages. It’s impressive here in the states, but when I lived in Spain I realized it’s completely normal in Europe. I hate to feel inferior to anyone so I need to know a few personally.
food/cooking Related
Wine making: This just sounds fun to me! And you have to have some scientific knowledge to make it work, so I’d be impressed if I heard this.
Pasta making: Fresh pasta is delicious. I wish I had the patience or time to make it from scratch.
Making sourdough bread: I’ve tried once and failed, but going to try again. Sourdough bread is better than normal bread. Having this as a hobby shows you have commitment and time management skills.
Flower design: You have to have an eye for color and shape to do this!
Business related Hobbies
Investing: I am trying to learn more about investing. I am always impressed by people who learn about investing young and randomly have a ton of money. Wish that was me.
Real estate: Not sure if this qualifies as a hobby, but knowing about real estate is incredibly valuable and I wish I knew more.
Chess: People who play chess learn to be detail oriented and think of a million possibilities of how the game could go. Chess players inherently feel smart to me.
Active Hobbies
Calisthenics: People who do calisthenics are always insanely strong and I’m impressed.
Gardening: Gardening sounds wholesome and like you genuinely care about the world around you.
Hiking: I need to hike more. Spending time in nature is curing when you work a office 9-5.
Yoga: I know people who love yoga are in touch with their body and so zen. Wish I was more like this.
Rock climbing: All the rock climbers I know are super strong. I don’t personally see the appeal but love when people have rock climbing as a hobby.
Horseback riding: Sounds like a great workout and relaxing to be out in nature. Also, horseback riding just sounds like a rich person activity.
Biking: I’ve been loving taking my peleton spin classes lately. Spining is fun and I completely understand why people love to bike.
Camping: I think more people need to camp. Many people NEED to get in touch with nature more.
The hobby that I HATE
Sports gambling/betting: nothing is more unattractive than a man freaking out over a sports game, screaming at his phone or the TV. If you have extra money, learn to invest it PLEASE instead of putting it into another parlay you will lose.
Conclusion:
Having hobbies after college brings a myriad of skills and value into your life. Whether you want to find new local friends, play your favorite sport, build a new skill, or simply do something fun instead of being on your phone for 10 hours a day, you will benefit! Especially if you live far from your college friends, which makes it difficult to feel social on a regular basis, hobbies will help you find community. Don’t let post grad life suck! Give a few hobbies a try and see what sticks!
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