There’s an unmistakable trend between growing up and quitting old hobbies. And I still haven’t been able to find a mix between the two.

I remember in middle school and high school I was always involved in anything and everything that had to do with school participation. Now I have to rack my brain for the last few things I used to participate in that I still do now. My mind draws a blank.

There are three major hobbies I can recall quitting when I was younger that regretted in later years

1. Sports.

2. Music.

3. Girl Scouts.

I was so passionate towards all of these hobbies during the time I participated in them. They grew to be my whole life and things I looked forward to so much. But, leaving these hobbies turned out to be the best and worst decisions of my life.

Let’s go down memory lane:

I was always an athletic kid growing up. I played soccer, volleyball, and basketball just because everyone else did. But softball and gymnastics were the two sports that really stuck with me.

I started softball as far back as I can remember. I started playing t-ball I think around the age of six (is that when it starts?). I remember going to all the Jamboree events where we had team pictures, group activities, and silly things that kids enjoyed (see, I can’t even remember!). This was the one sport that really, really stuck with me for a few years.

I played each season and always looked forward to it. I started playing competitive softball when I was around 10 years old, I think. I played with a few different teams and as time went on, my passion towards the sport started to dwindle. I played competitively for about four years and still continued playing in high school.

At some point, it just got too much. I don’t think there’s any other reason for it. I got injured and used that as my out to not come back as silly as that sounds. But my passion fizzled as I got older.

While I don’t think softball was something I would’ve continued into where I am now, I miss it so much on certain days. While it was the best decision at the time, it sometimes feels like the worst choice I’ve made now.

The same route happened with gymnastics. I used to compete in trampoline and tumbling when I was younger back in elementary school. At the time, it felt competitive. I felt passionate about it, all of my weekends were always booked with meets. I had gym practice multiple days of the week. But then softball started to get competitive too and I quit gymnastics. Easy.

Add that to the list of best decisions I’ve made towards gaining another passion, and worst choice I’ve made towards quitting something I loved.

Growing up I used to be involved in every music department there was. I did choir, band, I participated in a music collaboration class in high school, and yet, those are all things I quit. This is the one hobby I don’t understand.

Music has always been a big part of my life. Whether it was playing or making, I always had a drive towards music. And for some reason, after one year in high school band, that ship sailed.

Another hobby that I quit, that seemed like the best because I had no time, but still seems like the worst decision I’ve made.

One of the last biggest hobbies that I remember being a part of was Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts was probably my longest running hobby.

I joined as a little brownie in first grade and participated every year until the end of my sophomore year of high school. I did all of the cookie sales, went on all of the retreats, our troop even saved up money for two years to go on a cruise to Alaska one summer. I don’t know if I was necessarily passionate about what I was doing, but I never found any harm in participating in troop activities and group outings.

By the time I graduated, I realized how much Girlscouts had worked towards my benefit. It opened up my mind and myself to many opportunities I never would’ve tried without it. I remember being embarrassed to say I was a part of Girlscouts. I didn’t want people to know what I was doing, I never wanted to see people I knew when I sold cookies. I never wanted to ask people to buy cookies. But in the end, there was no point. I was a part of Girl Scouts because I wanted to be.

But still, I quit. Because the little passion I used to have, had fizzled and I didn’t see the point anymore.

With everything you do comes the passion behind it.

That’s the pattern piece that fell with each one of these hobbies, was the loss of passion.

I think that’s one of the ugly realities of growing up. You get older and more responsibilities arise, passions change and fizzle. Eventually, you find that all your old hobbies are gone.

While there’s no way of me guaranteeing that this happens to everyone, it unfortunately happened to me.

All of these hobbies felt like my life at one point. Leaving them was both the best choice at the time and I now see as the worst decision I made.