Interests

I don’t initially present as an interesting person.

I’m quiet in social situations, until I come to know the people around me enough to feel comfortable. This could take almost the entire social event, if it’s a one-time thing, or several weeks if it’s something like a Meetup group, Bible Study, or Church gathering. Because of being a wallflower, I don’t volunteer information about myself unless pointedly asked questions by others.

Actually, honestly, even once I am comfortable with people I don’t even think about volunteering information about myself because of my long career as an observer and a writer happily residing in her own universe. There may be more to it than that, since I, myself, don’t view my life as interesting, but that’s straying from the main focus of this post. So we’ll move on.

A person’s interests expand and shift as we read books, watch videos, interact with others, and continue to grow from our inter-, intra-personal and life experiences. Sometimes, there is no way for us to know of these shifting and expanding interests unless we actually ask the question: “So, what interests you these days?” You might be taken aback by the answer.

For me, over the last two years especially, I have been thoroughly enjoying watching videos about:

• Quantum Mechanics (Theory, Biology, Physics) and the Philosophy behind it
• Virtual Reality theory and the Philosophy behind it
• Evolution theories and the Philosophies behind them
• Biblical accounts and how the historical record + archaeological discoveries support them
• How things are made, why things are made, and how they have affected the course of history
• History and purpose behind abandoned places (Mysteries of the Abandoned)
• Lore and ‘Tolkien Explained’ videos about the world(s) of J.R.R. Tolkien
• Lore and ‘Star Wars Explained’ videos about the world(s) of George Lucas
• and many more of the same…

I’m a “why” learner, which means that I learn best if I can understand why something works the way it does. I also enjoy history, archaeology (ever since I was a child), and future possibilities posed by post-apocalyptic or dystopian movies/books. Plus, the more I open myself up to such a variety of things, the more interesting my story characters will be. 🙂

And then there are my hobbies:

• Blogging, Writing
• Jewelry making including stringing beads, wirework, and resin
• I want to get ‘back’ into ceramics from my childhood days
• And I am tinkering with the idea of decorating plain journals and selling those on my Etsy account

Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone has asked me about what interests me for over a decade. Actually, I don’t think I have either. Perhaps it’s time to add that question to my regular list of things to ask when faced with an opportunity for a conversation?