Taking Time To Do What You Love....Priceless!

For eight years between high school and college, announcing local sporting events for community television and radio stations had been a big part of my life. I spent many Friday, Saturday and sometimes weeknights in various press boxes calling a game for a local high school or small college. Calling games had been something I enjoyed doing and got a special rush each time I turned on the microphone.

When college ended, I ventured off into the "real world" and it was the first time in eight years I didn't have games to announce. I had my first job out of college to focus on and I didn't have any plans to call any games. I hadn't gotten around to finding a way to do what I love and there was strange void.

A couple years passed and I managed to fill the void by getting into sports photography. Being on the sidelines during various high school sports brought the rush back and helped keep me in tune with the local sports I had fallen in love with. I found something to fill the void but hadn't had a microphone in front of me for quite a while.

On New Year's Eve 2010, an opportunity to announce again appeared not in my lap but on a Facebook message from my neighbor. The Solon TV station had not found anyone to call the Solon vs Chagrin Falls hockey game that would be on January 2nd, 2011 and they were scrambling.

I read through the message two or three times before it really hit me. After a long time of not being behind a microphone, the opportunity to announce again was right in front of me. Best of all, it would be an opportunity to call my favorite sport of all time.

A couple e-mails and three phone calls later, I booked my first announcing gig since college! I couldn't help but get goosebumps as I was walking into the Gilmour Ice Arena to call the game. I was finally getting another chance to announce.

The rust was there for a the first couple minutes but it felt like old times as the game went on. I was in the moment and had forgotten how much fun it really was to have the microphone in front of me.

A year after calling that game between Solon and Chagrin Falls, I was offered another opportunity to announce a Solon vs Brecksville Broadview Heights game and accepted. Similar to the year before, the fun feeling I had growing up while calling games returned. I felt the same rush I had felt many times before as the game went into overtime.

The game ended in a 5-5 tie but I felt victorious afterwards. I was able to relive the rush I had felt many times before while calling games and had an opportunity to do something that had been a huge part of my life for a long time.

Having Hobbies Helps Relieve Stress and Can Help Refresh!

Our lives as professionals or college students can be stressful and time consuming. Working hard at the office or outside the classroom can be very demanding both mentally and physically. Being able to get away every once in a while helps reduce daily stress and help relax a bit. Taking time to enjoy your hobbies outside of work or outside of school can help relieve the stress and can help you refresh.

In your professional or student career, taking your work seriously is a must and number one priority but taking time during the week to enjoy hobbies can help reduce some of the tension. Hobbies serve as a way for us to enjoy something that is fun and meaningful outside of our daily work or school routine. Taking time to enjoy these simple pleasures can help you relax outside of work or when you are not doing homework. These serve as a getaway for us and can help us relax a bit as well.

During the week, some of my favorite activities include sports blogging, reading about sports or watching sports live in person or on TV. Yes, I am a sports nut but doing these activities helps me relax. I enjoy taking time to write about the latest sports story for my blog, I have a plethora of sports books I enjoy reading and being able to sit down to watch my favorite sports teams helps me relax and refresh my mind. These activities give me something to look forward to and provides enjoyment and relaxation.

In addition to watching sports, I am an avid photographer and going to a site to take pictures serves as an escape and a great way to relax. Photography is a hobby I picked up in college to serve as a way to relax and has continued to serve the same purpose since graduation. Taking my camera on long walks through parks, landscapes, small events, and sporting events (yes, I am a sports nut and enjoy taking pictures at sporting events). Now that football season is gearing up, taking my camera to a Solon High School football game (my alma mater) helps me wind down from the week and helps me relax a bit as the weekend begins. Photography has been a great hobby for me to help me relax and serve as a way to refresh a little bit.

To find hobbies, you don't have to be a sports nut like I am or enjoy photography to help relax. Some find playing a musical instrument a fun way to relax (and be with other people), others join book clubs, paint, draw, listen to music, read, or go to the movies as ways to relax and wind down from the week. Others take time to teach others their favorite hobbies and share that passion with others who start to show interest in that same activity. Finding something you enjoy isn't as hard as you think and you can find something beyond a sports arena to serve as your hobby.

To relax and relive stress, take time outside of work or school to enjoy the hobbies you are passionate about the most. These helps serve as your getaway for a bit and can help you refresh and fill the time outside of work or school. Sports and photography are two hobbies of mine that help me refresh on a weekly basis but you can find other hobbies that suit your needs and interests. Take time to enjoy and provide yourself something to look forward to when you are not at work or school.