Putting the "Mika" in Roni

I keep meaning to go to bed, but it just hasn’t happened yet. After sleeping through my alarm this morning and having a long nap after dinner, I don’t really feel tired at all. Sitting at the computer is probably not the best use of my time…surely I have homework to do, dishes to wash, laundry to put away, and so on…

Lately I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what it is that I enjoy doing. I remember once in high school my mom told me that I didn’t have any real interests of my own, and that I just absorbed the identities of my friends. At the time I was highly offended as only teenagers can be, but I’m beginning to wonder if maybe she had a point after all. Many of my favorite books are ones that I read because a close friend loved them; I like making cards, but I only started because Krista was doing it; I really like playing Zelda, but the Romgi talked me into that. Sudoku? Krista. Blogging? Maybe me. Our pets? The Romgi. Saving the world through microcredit? An FHE lesson my dad gave years ago.

So what things are Roni-ish? I would like to bake and cook, but constraints of time, money, and talent get in the way. I’d like to learn photography, but I don’t think my work would be anything much compared to what others do. I think part of the problem is I realize there are many people with exceptional skill, and my attempts at hobby-ing couldn’t begin to reach those levels of achievement. I’m torn, though, because I really do want to do something that is enjoyable in and of itself, without comparison to what anyone else can do; besides, how can I get better if I never try?

What I’m thinking of doing is getting a long-letter penpal. Apparently there is an actual group of people, women mainly, who want to correspond through lengthy paper letters. I love the idea, because it reminds me of Anne’s letter-writing. I think it would be fun to have a “snail mail” friend, especially since so much of my contact with people is through email and blogs. It could be nice to get a long letter in the mail every few weeks.

So…is that an ok Roni thing to do? Can you think of anything I do that makes me me?