Exploring the World of Special Interests

How do you interact with your special interests? What do they feel like to you? I have special interests that are mostly passive—like, if I see a piece of Sonic merch/media, I’ll be like, “oh sick!”. And then, with a lot of my long-term interests, I am always trying to passively learn little bits of info. I watch lots of sewing, embroidery, makeup, and nail art for cosplay and other crafts/hobbies I have. I like that my interests are adjacent, because I can watch a lot of videos and learn ways to apply it to different things. My special interests are a great way to dive deeper and spend time thinking about things from different angles. I like to work from my own patterns because I feel more connected to the task/project when I think over the information in different ways. It helps me to consider what fabrics and stitches to use—to think of the other things attached to cosplay, like a cosplay event. It’s very rewarding how my brain connects things, and I think that collecting hobbies is one of the ways I fill in that large library of info. When I’m doing something involving my special interests, I feel less inclined to mask. I feel comfortable. Like, I’m using all of my extra energy in a satisfying way. I can relax. It’s super cool to be able to get so into something that it changes how I hold myself. My special interests recharge me. 💪😎