Things You Didn’t Know You Needed After College
A hobby, because you need friends. A life without friends isn’t much fun, and not exploring your interests and passions will make you a boring person, which isn’t much fun. Whatever it is in life that you enjoy, no matter how obscure or mainstream it is, be vigilant in the pursuit of finding people to do it with.
I made a friend in Rexburg, Idaho after trading Star Wars Legos with him on a local Facebook page. He is a devout Mormon, a married man with three kids who works at a newspaper, and we couldn’t have less in common other than Legos. He is a delightful friend and we’ve been in touch for years, no matter where I have lived. Three years ago in Portland, Oregon, I joined an experts-only adult tennis league, which might lead you, dear reader to assume that I actually know how to play tennis expertly. I don’t. I was crushed utterly one day by a nice fellow who beat me three matches without one set won on my end.
We enjoy grilling out every summer to this day and talking about the pleasure of raising ducks and chickens. In Vancouver, Washington I became intimately involved in the city Spikeball league, and it’s how
I made three of my best friends, one of which later provided the first round of funding for my new business. When I moved to the other side of town in Portland, I picked up free firewood from a neighbor, which turned into an hour long conversation, which led to him inviting me
to adult kickball league the next day, which culminated three years of friendship later to us climbing Mt. St. Helens together.
It doesn’t always work out that well. Say yes to everything just so you can find out if it’s a no. You’ll make a friend, or you’ll find a place where your friend isn’t. I paid $500 to take a mountaineering class to find out snow-bros and climbing dudes was not my crowd. I’ve played a lot of tennis and spikeball, swapped Legos aplenty, but it hasn’t always worked out. But, it worked out a few times beautifully, and that’s all that was needed. The thing to remember might be as simple as this: hobbies may be one of your simplest avenues into a community you didn’t know you needed. And if you try something and discover it’s not for you, the learning may have been worth it anyway.
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Josh Grimmer is an Indiana native who now lives in Portland, Oregon, where he leads a small business/social enterprise (check out mygoodneighborpdx.com) and works in community development. Josh and his wife, Jessie, were part of the CWC community during college at IWU. They love being neighbors, friends, and continuous learners with the people who live and learn around them.