I have written before on the need to have hobbies, but I see a certain necessity to posting additional dialogue.

Truth be told, while it is essential for everyone to have a hobby, no matter how weird it may be, just having any hobby for the sake of having one is not a good idea. After all, recently I have come under pressure because my hobbies fall along the lines of collecting; not excessive at all, just collecting. I like Legos, and I like Star Trek Starships from Eaglemoss (they are really fantastic if you like them perfectly accurate for detail, by the way). But I never collect these merely because I like getting new packages in the mail, though the sensation is exciting; With both collections, I only target the sets and ships that I like the absolute most. There are many Legos and Star Trek ships, which, no matter how popular, I will never really want to see in my collection, and that's because I have preference and have done my research on these things.

So where is the pressure?

There are those who are under the opinion that Legos and little collectibles are for children only. As in, hobbies need to switch to bigger things like RC vehicles or creating major projects when you get to the mid-to-late teenage years. Do not misunderstand: some people do grow out of certain pursuits. They need the power of the throttle for their RC or full-sized motorcycles. If that's their goal, then go right ahead!

But, I also understand the human instinct of needing to fit in, and sometimes that makes certain people feel obligated to surrender their passions merely because everyone else, or at least the "cool guys," are doing it. If your hobby is something that you will never reasonably grow out of, and it won't have adverse affects on your life, then feel free to keep doing it! Especially if it keeps you personally from going crazy. I simply choose not to pursue those kinds of vocations. One, I think they cost too much money; two, they take up too much space; and three, I simply just do not have any interest in those things. Be it because I tried snowboarding and it actually got boring for me (no offense to those that do enjoy it), or morally do not agree with the idea of hunting woodland creatures (I have issues about seeing all that blood, and seeing the life in their eyes go from bright to scared to misty--and don't anyone suggest that "What if your family's life depended on it?" Retort: What if YOUR family's life depended on creating a rocket powerful enough to launch them to Mars? I don't think most of you quite specialized in mathematics enough to get that done. Let people like you who can stand the blood and killing do what you have to, and leave those of us who will try to prevent such a disaster from occurring in the first place to actually do their job. Jus' sayin').

Basically, as long as my hobby is not doing any real harm to me or anyone else, do not judge me. And I will grant you that same courtesy without a second thought. But just make sure that it is something you want to do for yourself, and not because someone else wants you to do otherwise "because it is weird" or "the cool guys aren't doing THAT". Just be reasonable about it, financially, practically, and logically as far as possible.