By Sabrina Betterly
Contributing Writer

When lockdown began in March, I was left with incessant boredom amidst all the schoolwork I had ahead of me. I needed some type of reprieve from the same routine of Zoom University every single day. And then came the wonderful hobby of crocheting. 

I don’t quite remember what inspired me to pick it up; all I remember was impulse buying a kit on Amazon, and it came to my doorstep in a few short days. And there I was, sitting on my bed, trying to learn something that was completely foreign to me. 

My first attempt looked awful. It was a white triangle when I meant it to be a square, and it was horribly misshapen and uneven. Despite that, I was proud of myself for broadening my horizons and trying to learn something I otherwise wouldn’t have attempted. 

Since then, I’ve made an array of projects: scarves, a hat and some amigurumi, which is the Japanese art of crocheting stuffed animals. 

The practice I’ve done in the past six or seven months has led up to now where I’m creating an amigurumi dinosaur for my newborn nephew. My main goal of learning crochet was to have a new crafting hobby and make things for my loved ones – and myself! 

Learning something new was challenging in a way I didn’t expect. The learning curve of picking something up that was completely different from my usual interests was difficult but rewarding.

I would encourage everyone to try crocheting, as I believe everyone should try to pick up something foreign once in a while. Even though we’re back in the thick of things with school, sometimes you might surprise yourself with what you can do and what catches your eye!