High school, a hard part of a teenager’s life, is difficult, and finding new hobbies can be a challenge, especially given the workload and the limited amount of time. Most people have their hobbies set in place by the time they reach high school, however the stress of the school year can sometimes drive students to change hobbies or even drop their leisure activities all together. Dropping a hobby is an ordeal all too familiar to junior Mireya Ramirez. Ramirez was a boxer for five years and got into the sport due to her brother’s years of experience with it. Although recently, due to health issues, Ramirez was forced to abruptly stop the sport she loved.

“I began fainting very often, and the doctors are still unsure as to why,” said Ramirez.

Her newly discovered health problems cause issues for Ramirez not only in school, but with other activities as well. In the meantime, she sought to find a new hobby that would be worthwhile. Finding a new hobby can be complicated, so here are a few tips to start looking. First of all, start by looking into activities that spark interest. Ask oneself whether playing sports or going into something like fine arts is a better fit.

“I would tell students to figure out whether they want a physical hobby, or a simple convenient one like drawing, once they figure that out, it’s easy to go with your interests,” said Ramirez.

There are a wide variety of clubs at Tompkins high school. There is Robotics, Creative Writing, Language Clubs, Anime and more. The next step should be to look and see if they have the interest at school. Extra-Curricular activities can be a great way to get one’s mind off of a hard workload, but one must keep in mind how their class schedule and workload looks like. If one has too many AP’s, some activities might be too time consuming to accommodate into a schedule. With that in mind, find a hobby that can be a great stress reliever, but does not interfere negatively with grades. Another alternative would be to choose classes wisely around the leisure activity so that the stress level endured in the school year is to a minimal.

“I am in two AP classes, I plan on starting boxing up again when my doctor tells me I can, so I wanted to keep my work load to a minimum, the AP classes I am taking are classes that I find enjoyable and I know I can succeed in, taking classes that feel like a burden would stress me out and interfere with boxing,” said Ramirez.

Although the school offers a great variety of options for students, there are surprisingly many hobbies to pursue outside, so do not be panicked if there is not have the right fit at school. Hobbies can be a great way to pass the time and relieve stress from school. Finding a new hobby may be hard at first, but by following the steps and looking into something intriguing, a new hobby could be right around the corner. Ramirez plans to try ice skating, archery and track as new hobbies. Although she had to leave the sport she loved, she even found going back and helping the coaches to be a fun new hobby.

“I have been going to boxing when I have the time to help with coaching and training some of the younger kids there, I already do archery just not competitively and I go to Memorial City Mall quite frequently to practice ice skating,” said Ramirez.