Sometimes life can be boring, especially in the summer when school is out. When friends are busy and there’s nothing to do, it might be time to pick up a new hobby. Most of these hobbies can function for a rainy day when you can’t go outside, or a day in summer that’s just too hot.

A nice, relaxing hobby to take up could be as simple as reading. With the ever growing social media enterprises, less and less people are reading books. Classic literature and modern alike still need appreciation and love. Renting these novels can be quite easy since NBW has a great selection of books in its library, and the New Berlin Public Library is close by. Audiobooks can also be useful if you want to read, but are either too busy to read or simply don’t like to. These audiobooks can be played in the car instead of music, and can be taken relatively anywhere without burden, thanks to apps that allow you to take your book with you on your phone. Whether the book is physical, online or audio, it doesn’t hurt to get into books.

Similar to audiobooks, another fun thing to do is listen to or watch podcasts. There are so many different kinds of people who make podcasts about a variety of topics. There is guaranteed to be some topic you could find an interest in, weather it be conspiracies, art, news, politics, or many more. Many famous or well-known people also make podcasts on the internet, like Shane Dawson, so you can probably find and listen to people you know of.

Learning a new language can be quite fun and beneficial, and you could start from inside the comfort of your home. Language learning is becoming more accessible with the development of apps such as Duolingo, Babbel, Rosetta Stone, and many more. One of the apps that is free to use is Duolingo. This app features over 20 different language courses to choose from, including: French, Spanish, Russian, Hebrew, and even Klingon, the fictitious language from Star Trek.

Similar to a language, if you are someone who has an affinity for music, learning a new instrument might be for you. You can purchase or rent an instrument new or used, from either a local music store or on sites online. Finding videos or articles teaching you how to play can also be quite easy to get a hold of from various places online. You can purchase sheet music from a local music store, or download your own sheet music online from google or various other websites online.

DIYs (do it yourself) are quite popular with their presence all over social media platforms. Another term some might use to describe this is upcycling, which is a type of crafting and DIY while using old things you already own. Many Youtubers have been successful in growing their channels simply by taking on and designing many of these types of crafts. Also on social media apps like Instagram, many people have accounts dedicated to short videos on crafts.

Many people are bringing back a type of lost art being calligraphy and cursive writing. Whether on an Instagram page or somewhere else, you may have seen something like this pop up on your webfeed. Many people don’t know how to read or write cursive anymore, so learning this would be very unique and stand-out. This might be hard to begin, but calligraphy could be a very nice hobby to learn, and it can help in making those birthday and thank-you cards look so much more thankful.

This next hobby might seem like a sport stereotypically for old ladies, but it can be for anyone of any age: knitting. All you need to start is two knitting needles and some yarn, which you can purchase at a local craft store.  Similar to DIYs, there are a ton of tutorials on Youtube and other media platforms that can teach you how to start. This can be a nice hobby to relax with, once you get the hang of it.

A lot of people like to doodle on their notebooks in classes while taking notes, so why not make your doodles bigger and better? Drawing or painting can be a very simple hobby to take up and includes very cheap materials. You could even go to a studio and paint with a teacher and a class.

If drawing isn’t for you, maybe it’s time to take up coloring. A fad that has been going around lately is “adult coloring books”. These books are way more intricate than the ones we used as children and have a lot more detail and places to color in. With the growing popularity of these types of books, they can be found in a lot of places like Barnes and Noble, or a Michaels Craft Store.

In conclusion, some of these activities might not be free or convenient, but everyone could find at least one that interests them. Whether it be reading, learning a language, or DIYing, these indoor hobbies are bound to distract anyone from their own boredom.