Welcome to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live. It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes, interests, and lives? Every month a group of six bloggers share their work-spaces, homes, towns, and thoughts, with posts based on specific prompts. It’s been so interesting over the years to see the different ways each of us interpret the topics.

First, a shout out to my “Where Bloggers Live” group. I’m so glad we’re all back to together again (since last month)…cuz that sort of (I guess?) means that everyone has their life at least a little bit together 😉  Mostly, I’m just happy to be able to read everyone’s stories again.

This month’s topic is “what I do when I’m bored.” Make sure to visit everyone’s posts (link below) to see their take on this topic.

“There are no uninteresting things, only uninterested people.”

Not to start this post off with WHY I LOVE MYSELF, but…one of the things I do love about myself is I am ENDLESSLY interested in new things. This has made my life an unending road with interesting detours, u-turns, some periods of being lost, and taking the road less traveled. I have gone from horse person (riding, mucking, teaching) to dog person (training, showing) to flower person (designing, decorating), to gardening person, to internet/desktop publishing person, to ebay seller/collector of amazing things and clothing, to photographer, to being captivated by Korea (language, culture, drama, music, landscape, people, style, etc), to world traveler (currently in Phase One).

And that endless interest means…When Left to My Own Devices I Am Never Bored.

Now, put me in an uninteresting job or class, or make me spend time with people who are *yawn,* and yes, then I’m bored and there’s not much you can do about that. Doodle. Make to-do lists. Etc.

BUT. Other than that, I am rarely bored. If nothing else, I always have my mind with me and I can talk to myself, or better yet, have conversations with other people – by myself. Ha ha.

However, one of the greatest “anti-boredom” skills is, to me, photography. And that starts from getting inspiration. Looking at sites like flickr, Instagram (in the old days…it’s a little hard to even find a still photograph there anymore!), Pinterest, or even just Google (pick a topic, any topic, then “images,” and boom, you’re off). It’s so fun to find an image that inspires you to recreate. Or a theme. Like “this weekend I will take pictures of things that are red.” And then you’re on a scavenger hunt looking for interesting things in that theme. I can spend an hour, day, a weekend, a lifetime adding to that theme. I have lists of themes I will never get through.

Then there’s the act of the photography itself. The never-ending learning, the “how to,” the books you’ll read, the courses you’ll take, the mentors you’ll find. No time for boredom there. There are so many free resources for learning (not just photography, but for anything), like Skillshare, Coursera, Udemy, CreativeLive, etc. Even if you’re not interested in photography, take a look at the classes available on sites like those and I bet something will catch your eye!

Learning is a combator (combatant?) of boredom. Learning is like a pebble in a pond…the ripples are endlessly far-reaching. You never know where you’ll end up!

Back to photography. Or any new interest, really. Find a club. Check your local (or online) library. Go to MeetUp.com. Find like-minded people. Or if you don’t want to go out and meet actual humans, find an online forum or Facebook group. Chatting with new people about your newfound interest or hobby is a path of exponential reward. They’ll know things you don’t know yet, have experiences and viewpoints to share, etc.

And then GO PLACES! Go to interesting places, uninteresting places, beautiful places, ugly places, popular places, unknown places…and find something worth shooting wherever you go. If you can’t go out in the world, find places in your home. Create little vignettes. Tell stories through pictures. Learn to do self-portraits.

Learn to edit – there is a literal infinate amount of editing practices as new techniques and tools are coming out all the time.

And for some, all the above is just the starting line! You can use your pictures for so many different types of art or crafts. Collage, layering, printing on things, making photo books, etc.

I know I’ve used the work “endlessly, well, endlessly in this post, but…really, that’s what a good hobby or interest is. It’s an endless source of endless activities, learning, practicing, sharing, etc.

Now, I know I’m fortunate. I have a good friend who struggles to find things to be interested in…at least to the degree that I do. I tend to go so deep into new interests that they are, quite literally, life-changing (#livinginkoreanow). And I guess there are others who maybe have a hard time to find things to be interested in. I don’t know why I’m this way. Is it innate? Is it a skill I learned? I don’t know. But it’s just an  action. Pick something. Anything. Learn about it. Try it. Practice it. Lather Rinse Repeat. If that thing doesn’t float your boat, try another thing. There is SOMETHING. There is something for everyone. I’m convinced of that.

And…honestly, sometimes I’d be happy to be a little bored, ha ha. Let me just lay here and stare at the ceiling. That actually sounds kind of lovely…and not boring at all. I think I’ma go do that for a little bit, bye.

PS: I shared these particular photographs to show that you don’t need fancy equipment or expensive lighting…you don’t need to go to exotic places or have a partner…you can “see” things everywhere you go (or don’t go).

Please make a visit to these other wonderful ladies and see what keeps them going in times of boredom.

Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Doghair
Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After
Sally at Within a World of My Own