It's Never Too Late to Learn
[rebelmouse-image 18348452 is_animated_gif=They say it's never too late to learn. Famous artist Anna Mary Robertson Moses, better known as Grandma Moses, didn't begin painting until age 76.
Reddit user classycatman asked "Redditors who discovered and mastered a new hobby in middle or late age, what was it, why did you start, and how did you master it?"
Here are just a few skills others have picked up later in life. Maybe you'll find a new hobby too.
Off the Land
[rebelmouse-image 18348453 is_animated_gif=I decided at the age of 27 I wanted to hunt and fish for all my food. I know 27 isnt middle aged, but its a damn late start to hunting, most hunters start with their dad as a kid. I come from a non hunting and fishing family, so it was very foreign to me. I had no background in it, and no clue how to get started. Lots of googling, book reading, and podcast listening got me to a good start. I went from never firing a gun to killing my first buck in the span of about 3 months. I became obsessed. I now bowhunt, gunhunt, kayak and offshore fish for every bit of meat I eat. Been living that way for 5 years, so I guess you can say im pretty good at it.
Visual Arts
[rebelmouse-image 18348454 is_animated_gif=Animation and 3D modeling assets for movies, games and TV. I've always been artistic but never really thought about what I wanted out of life as I normally put other peoples needs in front of my own. I turned 30 last year and applied for an art course in the local college, got accepted and now a year later I've just found out I've been accepted onto an animation course in the main University in my city. It feels weird because I never imagined myself doing this or enjoying it but I really do love it.
Voltron
[rebelmouse-image 18348455 is_animated_gif=It might not be such a big thing, but recently I started buying and building Gundam build kits. The first one took me nearly 16 hours to complete and I'm starting to get better and better at making them, especially the stickers, those things are damn hard to put on.
Board Life
[rebelmouse-image 18348456 is_animated_gif=Started skateboarding at 31 - on and off, never more than 3-4 hours a week. My findings after 1 year: - it's hard - it hurts - it's extremely fun.
We Got the Beat
[rebelmouse-image 18348457 is_animated_gif=I'm 44 now and I just started playing the drums three years ago. I was always one of those guys that basically drums on the steering wheel, desk, lap, anything I could find when listening to music. Then finally at 41 years old I decided to gift myself a real drum kit. Can't say that I've mastered it since it takes a long long time to master drums. If there really is such a thing as mastering the drums. Considering the many play styles, genres of music, and just about endless techniques to master, I will have plenty to keep busy with. All in all though I absolutely love drumming and wish I would have started much younger in life. Either way it is a fantastic Hobby.
Something to Draw On
[rebelmouse-image 18348460 is_animated_gif=I started learning to draw when I was 34 years old. I always figured I was a crappy artist, since I was comparing myself to my twin brother. Growing up, he was "the artistic one" (side note don't label your twins in comparison to each other), and he drew way more often than I did.
When I was 34, I told him how I wished I could draw. He told me to pick something fun to draw, draw every day, and see how my skill improves.
So, I started drawing chibis. My first ones sucked. I drew every day. I read books and found Pinterest tutorials. I started keeping a drawing journal, in addition to learning and practicing.
Now, I'm 36 years old. I still consider myself a beginner. A large percentage of my pictures still suck, especially when I'm trying something new or ambitious. I've learned to accept that. I've also started drawing things that I'm really happy with, and it is refreshing.
Fun Fitness
[rebelmouse-image 18348461 is_animated_gif=I took up Krav Maga in my forties. Beating the crap out of each other is way more fun than running on a treadmill for an hour.
Treasure Hunter
[rebelmouse-image 18348462 is_animated_gif=Well, I'm 33 and I've been Metal detecting for the past 2 years and I must say it's something that fulfills me, researching places of battles, of old abandoned towns, digging stuff that has been buried for over 300 years it's a unique experience.
Design Line
[rebelmouse-image 18348463 is_animated_gif=I took up game programming. Everything's free now. Blender. Unity. Visual Studio. Unreal Engine. These were all things that would have been hundreds, if not thousands of dollars when I was in my 20s back in the 90s. And there are so many thousands of great tutorials out there for everything. It's the golden age of Indie Game Design.
I'm not a master yet. But I've made a few things that people seem to enjoy.
Purl One, Cast Off
[rebelmouse-image 18348464 is_animated_gif=I'm 47 and earlier this year had surgery on my foot. Bed-bound, foot elevated. I've always wanted to learn how to knit, and figured I could use my recovery time doing something useful. I bought cheap yarn at a local craft store, one 'how to' book, and found some really good tutorial-type YouTube channels. Had my surgery in early January, and as of right now I can knit hats, scarves, mittens, and socks. I can do cable knitting and fair isle knitting (only 2 colours so far, next project will use 3). I can knit on straight needles and in the round. I currently have two goals: knitting Christmas stockings for my husband, my 6 children, and myself, and knitting myself an Icelandic sweater. I realize it's sort of an 'old lady' hobby, but I find it so relaxing and rewarding.
Puck Passion
[rebelmouse-image 18348465 is_animated_gif=At age 39, I decided to learn to play ice hockey.
I rollerbladed as a kid and would occasionally ice skate on figure skates. Then my son started to play ice hockey and it looked like so much fun, I joined an adult league to learn to play. I've been playing in men's leagues for over a year and was invited to help coach my son's team.
Little Xs
[rebelmouse-image 18348466 is_animated_gif=Cross stitch. I came across a book at a library that had subversive cross stitch. I loved looking at old granny things that had swears and snarky remarks on them. It was a fairly cheap hobby to pick up. A lot of supplies you can find in thrift shops. Regardless it's cheap even at store price.
Stroke
[rebelmouse-image 18348467 is_animated_gif=Began rowing at 30. It's been a brutal, weird, humbling journey that began with an awkward class and some flailing on the water to near perfect strokes that make me feel like I'm flying and my heart is soaring.
There's no way to just row, just like there's no way to just be. It always feels like more, in a good way.
Handy
[rebelmouse-image 18348468 is_animated_gif=Not by any means a "master" at it but, I started woodworking at 35. I'm now 42. I impress myself and my friends. It started out of practicality. I needed a workbench for my garage. I built one. I needed a bookcase. I built it. I discovered that I really enjoy doing it so I picked up some additional tools and I started building more and more complex things.
Edit because this got popular and there were a lot of comments: Here is one of my projects. Like I said, I am not really all that good. I just watch a lot of videos and I'm not afraid to try new stuff. I built this because I needed a good solid bookshelf and I wasn't going to pay $350.00 for a cheap veneered MDF bookcase. This was made out of pine and cost me about 100 bucks in materials.
Upon the Stage
[rebelmouse-image 18348469 is_animated_gif=At age 60, without a single second of previous experience, I started acting in live theater. It was local community theater but still... A friend convinced me to try it. I have done alright and each time I try out for a new play I get a better role.
Trivial Matters
[rebelmouse-image 18348470 is_animated_gif=I started collecting facts about different countries a few years ago. I had a total of 70,000 that I have organized down to about 15,000 of the best ones.
There's no end in sight and I think that I will be doing this for the rest of my life. Everyday is just a new adventure researching whether Afghan women have triangle or crescent shaped tattoos on their faces or fact-checking whether Germans actually fought side-by-side with Ameiricans in WW2.
Maybe by the time I'm done fact checking everything, I will be able to write a couple of books or do a Youtube series or something. But even if that never pans out, I just enjoy doing this everyday.
I don't think I will ever master all of the histories and intricacies of all the countries in the world, though. But I'm going to try.
The Pen Is Mighty
[rebelmouse-image 18348472 is_animated_gif=I started writing at 42, sold a book at 45. I had tried writing at various times all my life but never had thought of really showing it to anyone until I got in my 40s. I just like to write. It gets everything out.
Throwing Clay
[rebelmouse-image 18348473 is_animated_gif=I always wanted to try ceramics. So when I had to take art electives when I went back to college about 30 years later than planned, I figured, what the hell.
I didn't expect to be good at it (art isn't really something I'm any good at) but it's so much fun and there's so much science in it. You can completely ignore the science part, or you can go full Mad Scientist and experiment the hell out of it.
Sadly ceramics isn't really a hobby you can easily bring home with you, so while I spent a ton of time in the studio when I had access to one, it's a hobby that's pretty hard to keep going.
Doing the Heavy Lifting
[rebelmouse-image 18348474 is_animated_gif=I was approaching 39 I was overweight and depressed. I did not want to start my 40s the same way. I started going to the gym and got connected with a personal trainer who was going to school at the same time. She used me as a guinea pig for all the things she was learning.
I was a sponge who wanted to learn all the things. Long story short, my body type is perfect for powerlifting and she was getting into going to competitions herself. I started training hard with her using big boy weights. So far I have done 2 competitions and hope to do another one next year.
Still with the same coach. Truly life changing.
Like Don Ho
[rebelmouse-image 18348475 is_animated_gif=A couple years ago (I'm 36 now) I somehow drunkenly ordered a ukulele from Amazon Prime because it looked cool and because beer.
It turned out that it was easier to just learn how to play the damned thing than it was to return it, and now I play with a group in the city once a week and started up a group of my own at my office because a bunch of other people here got interested in it too. It's become a surprisingly solid source of security and comfort through a very rocky time in my life.
I learned to play it using youtube videos and then once I'd gotten my feet under me I found a group that plays for fun near me and started showing up weekly. There's no better way to solidify and improve your musical skills than playing with other people, and there's almost nothing you can't learn using youtube.
Don't be alarmed: There are some terrible corporations out there (looking at you, Nestle) but there are also some great brands that are selling decent products.
I know, surprising, right? Maybe we've all just gotten used to brands selling things of questionable quality that when we stumble across something worthwhile it stuns us.
Hold on tight when you find a brand deserving of your loyalty!
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor spwf asked the online community,
"What brand(s) do you swear by and why?"
"Their cast iron pans..."
"Lodge. Their cast iron pans are super durable and can last a lifetime."
StillForest989
Not just a lifetime. Your Lodge cast iron will outlive you, if (and even if you don’t) take care of it. Even if they get rusty they can be resurfaced. And damn is it satisfying to resurface a forgotten cast iron pan.
Asics, specifically the Gel-Nimbus series. I've suffered from joint pain and unbearable plantar fasciitis from a relatively young age... These shoes are life savers. Very pricey and I don't love the look of tennis shoes of any type but nevertheless I will praise these shoes to the end of days. Hopefully, I will always be able to afford them once a year.
Glad to hear you've found some much-needed relief!
"Warranty and service..."
"Victorinox. Excellent pocket knives, multi tools and their kitchen knives are probably the best ones you can get under 100 USD. Warranty and service is top notch."
CharacterComb3039
Anyone who cooks, but can't afford or doesn't want to invest in a professional-grade chef's knife should get a Victorinox. They aren't nearly as good as a top tier professional chef's knife, but they are night and day compared with everything else in their price range.
"This one brand..."
"This one brand of granola bars called Sunbelt Bakery. Every other granola bar brand is so dry I can't eat them anymore."
[deleted]
Yes, these are so good! An excellent choice.
"Very comfortable."
"Dickies. High quality pants. They're meant to be work pants so they're pretty durable and breathe well. Very comfortable."
GargantuanCake
"High quality" is right. Those pants last forever.
"It helps clean..."
"Dawn dishsoap. It helps clean dishes and it's great when one of my kids has an accident and I have to wash their clothes. Sometimes leaves a small stain but no smell. It has saved so many outfits."
[deleted]
Fantastic – it sounds like you should be their salesperson.
"They don't use..."
"New Balance. They don't use slave labor to make shoes."
Tink2013
They are comfortable and fit well.
I personally still don't like the aesthetics of many of their shoes, but still recommend them to people who want a good shoe.
"They are a retailer..."
"REI. Stand behind everything in their store. They are a retailer but you can beat something up they sell and they give you a full refund."
bigturkey1738
Many people use them for shoes, for camping gear... all kinds of stuff. They're very reliable.
"I wear my Timberland boots..."
"I wear my Timberland boots almost every day, I’ve had them for almost ten years, and they’re still just about as sturdy as they were the day I bought them."
RedWestern
These shoes tend to last forever. "Durable" is the perfect word.
"One large bottle..."
"Dr. Bronner's Castile soap. One large bottle lasts me about a year and I use it for everything. No toxic BS in them like pretty much every other soap and they smell fantastic."
"Also when I say everything I really mean it. All purpose cleaner, dish soap, body wash, shampoo, carpet extractor wash, dog shampoo, it’s called 18 in 1 for a reason."
drumkid74
If you're interested in the story behind the company, the documentary Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox might be right up your alley.
See? Not all brands are terrible. After reading about some of these, it might be time to change of your buying habits.
Have some suggestions of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!
You know what would be great?
If society could just stop with arbitrary dress codes. If you're not working with the public, why should you have to dress up so much? If you're a police officer, then it makes sense that you'd wear a uniform that identifies you as a police officer. If you're Ted from IT who sits in the backroom all day, I really don't see why you have to come in every day in a suit and tie.
Let's just toss them out, shall we?
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor Levels2ThisBrush asked the online community,
"What should be socially acceptable but isn't?"
"Leaving the office..."
"Leaving the office whenever you've finished your tasks for the day."
misringuette
This is why I'm so glad remote work is the new office.
"And yet, I get it!"
"Taking off sick from work, WITHOUT giving an invasive reason. I supervise a small team and so I see all the OOO emails, and for gods sake I want people to PLEASE not feel the need to explain in detail what kind of diarrhea is afflicting them, or how bad their period cramps are, or how much bad sushi they ate the night before. Just say “I’m under the weather, I won’t be online today.”"
"And yet, I get it! I do it too! I feel guilty or like I’ll be looked at with suspicion if my reason for taking off isn’t sufficiently debilitating enough!"
"But… we need to stop this. As a manager I don’t care, I don’t THINK the people above me who are also on these emails care… let’s just all agree to take sick days without any details from now on!"
imnotwallaceshawn
I do not miss my retail days where I had to organise someone to cover me and beg on bended knee.
"Cashiers or workers who don’t need to be standing all day not having a stool or chair."
Lavatories
Another thing I do not miss from my retail days. Having to stand for hours and hours only to come home with my feet killing me was not fun.
"Prices on apartments..."
"Prices on apartments and their respectable reasons for such price directly on their websites or advertising without the need for a tour or any secrecy."
Spiceinvader3124
I always assume if I have to ask the price I probably can’t afford it.
"Being quiet..."
"Being quiet/not wanting to engage in conversation all the time."
[deleted]
In Finland, if somebody tries to talk to you, they are probably a tourist.
"Choosing not to..."
"Choosing not to have toxic family members in your life."
[deleted]
It feels very liberating once you accept that you don't have to put up with it.
"Employees..."
"Employees calling customers out in public for being a**holes."
gameboy1001
Absolutely. Many customers get away with treating employees horribly because they know they can do it without any pushback... most of the time.
"The fact that I sometimes..."
"The fact that I sometimes need to take my insulin in public. No, Karen, I am not doing drugs, I need to live."
blubberwinx
You’re getting that sweet sweet insulin high… the high of being not-dead.
"Afternoon naps."
"Afternoon naps. I’m on team nap. Give me 25 minutes to charge up and I’ll give you back 3 hours of high quality work. Everyone wins. Plus I go home with extra energy instead of dead tired."
Governmentwatchlist
Short naps don't work for me. I can't do a 25 min recharge. When I take a nap it needs to be like a solid 2 hours
"Speak up!"
"Salary transparency. For some reason, in the US, there’s a taboo or stigma around discussing one’s salary. This should be done openly and freely, with zero embarrassment or judgment. The only winners from avoiding these conversations are the corporations that are able to pay people differently for the same roles. Speak up!"
Jumping_Bear
The "for some reason" you're referring to is simply propaganda on behalf of corporations.
It's evident that something's got to change around here, and we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!
Have some observations of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
As much as many of us don't like to disrupt the status quo, there is only so much time a person can tolerate a miserable situation before things become so unbearable that they ultimately have to peace out.
For some people, it takes a while for them to reach a breaking point. Eventually, there comes a time when they realize their self-worth is more important than continuing to please others who don't appreciate them for the sake of keeping up with appearances.
Curious to hear from people whose patience ran thin and made a strong decision, Reddit Prestigious-Order-62 asked:
"What made you say 'f'k this sh*t im out?'"
The unwarranted reprimanding was something that was never mentioned in the initial job description.
Feeling Criminal
"In the late 90’s."
"One time I got pulled into the Security office at a Department store I worked at. They accused me of constantly using the sales day coupons for people that didn’t present one (we always kept an extra copy at each register). I had watched my own department boss do it many times so I assumed it was okay. We didn’t even collect the coupons to be counted for the cash office, we just chucked them after use."
"They claimed I lost the store hundreds of dollars and had been watching me 'for months' do this awful, unforgivable crime for people spending 90 bucks on already bloated price designer jeans. I’m sure the occasional 10% discount was just devastating. 🙄""I got this huge lecture of how I was LITERALLY stealing from the store and they COULD call the police but would give me a chance to work off the damage. I couldn’t believe how criminal I was made to feel over it. The best part when they called my boss in who pretended to have never done it before to save her own a**."
"I asked if they were firing me. They said 'Yes and No. You will be let go, but you can choose to work off the damages so we don’t take you to court.' I told them I will just quit and asked for my last check. They said they will deduct what I owe from my last check. And I said 'Well then you need to show me all the footage and prove that I was stealing.' They wouldn’t produce footage, finally called the cops, and when the cops arrived, they were just as confused and called it an internal problem and advised them that this was overblown. I think they felt sorry for me. So finally upper management came in and just said 'just issue the last check, I will sign it here.' So much drama over so stupid a thing."
"It was sad because that actual day my Mom and daughter had come to the mall to meet me for lunch and I had to explain I just was forced to quit that job and was never allowed in that store again like I was some awful jerk."
"It was nice a few short years later, the entire chain bankrupted."
– Munich11
Power Trip
"A coworker waited until we were in front of a large group of people to start 'disciplining' me for something 'wrong' I did (I took my lunch 15 mins late to help another coworker) when she wasn’t even my supervisor. Applied for a job transfer the next day and couldn’t be happier where I am now."
– _shes_a_jar
Abusive Boss
"I had a piece of sh*t of a boss. He'd praise you in private but berate you in public. In front of coworkers and customers. Always about stuff that didn't matter."
"He'd also happily break company policy to side with customers after you spent an hour telling a customer you can't give them stuff for free, for example. Any time he was around, everything was miserable."
"My only regret is that I wasn't there to see him marched out by corporate when he got fired, because I had gone on to a better job by then."
– redisforever
Human Punching Bag
"I used to work in a Kitchen at a pub, it was grim work, but I had freinds there and had worked there for 3 years, So it wasn't too bad."
"One Christmas season we were being absolutely pumped, full out functions and busy services. My boss at the time was very stressed and fair enough, We were busy, We were all working overtime and full out. He used any excuse to completely blow up and absolutely scream at me for little to no reason, essentially him yelling at me was his stress relief. But fine, whatever, kitchens are rough places, no appolagies or anything, move on."
"I then go away for 3 weeks over the Christmas holidays and spend the time road tripping around the country having an amazing time."
"First shift back, not pleased being back, he makes a snarky comment."
"F'k this, Im out."
– Freddy54323
Even though these employees weren't chewed out in front of co-workers, the low salary without room for negotiation made them not wanting to stick around for much longer.
You Only Get One Job
"They cut my hours so I had to get a second job. 3 days before I was supposed to start said second job, my manager at the main job told me that I couldn't get this second job because I had main job first and I needed to make it my priority. That's when I said f'k you and left. I didn't even give a notice, I literally just sent an email saying I wouldn't be coming in the next day, grabbed my sh*t and went home."
– ginger_princess2009
Meager Wage
"I used to work Retail and after 7 years at the company, I found out I was only making 50 cents more an hour than someone who just started yesterday. I understood if they couldn't pay me more and asked for a good schedule. 7-3 or 8-4 every day and the same two days off every week. I didn't even ask for weekends off."
"I was told that they couldn't give me a good schedule so I quit."
– maybeashly
Situations weren't much different outside the work place. Social dilemmas prompted these Redditors to say, "nope."
Rude Reception
"Went to a pub because a friend kept asking. When I got there, he was with a group of people I didn't know, so I introduced myself and got the next round. As I come back with the tray, I hear them saying something along the lines of 'why is that b*tch still here? I thought she was just supposed to drop off a bicycle?' 'Ya, we don't want her to come to <this other town with more pubs> and now she is drinking with us?' 'She's so dumb' *proceeds to imitate and ridicule me as I was actively listening and nodding when I was having a conversation with my friend."
"Gave the beer to random people and walked right out after saying good evening to my friend and briefly explaining I did not appreciate being tricked into being a bicycle taxi for people who hate me directly after meeting me."
– ILikeLamas678
A Shocking Incident
"I was on my boat fishing for bass. I casted out my line and watched the lure hit the water but the line just floated in the air. Lightning and thunder crashed and the line fell to the water. F'k this sh*t, I'm out."
– fsh4fun051
Femme Fatale
"She lined my bed with broken glass put the blankets over it and I dove on in lol."
"Edit: She was violent/crazy and on drugs, was like the 20th attack I took and that made me really think lol."
– MyLifeForAuir1Ally For The Ex
"I found nudes of his ex (from ten years ago) that I’d previously asked him twice to get rid of tucked in a pair of MY socks. Our couples counselor asked why he’d kept them and he said, 'You know. In case I ever needed to blackmail her.' He said it like it was a perfectly normal and reasonable thing to plan to do. The therapist and I locked eyes and I noped the f'k out of there and moved out."
– Previous_Mood_3251
Most of these Redditors realized leaving their situation was better than dealing with the consequences of sticking around.
The latter is never a good option. Why remain in a scenario you know is already going to consume your soul?
The lesson for today is–Don't be miserable. Your sanity is worth saving.
Besides, you would never know that something better awaits if you just don't get the F out.As we enter into the summer months, people now have to decide whether or not they want their morning coffee to be hot or iced.
Lucky for them, it's delicious either way.
One could make an argument that foods that are equally delicious hot or cold are perhaps the best, or at least the most reliable.
And this can include foods which are not customarily sold both hot and cold (cold pizza anyone?).
Redditor NectarineOther4989 was curious to hear which foods people enjoy either hot or cold, leading them to ask:
"What is something that tastes good both hot and cold?"
Fresh out of the oven, or the next day!
"Cookies."- SuvenPan
Chocolate withstands all temperatrues
"Brownies."- Reasonable-Software2
Can't go wrong with fruit and pastry
"Pie."
"Apple pie."- Hak_Saw5000
This doesn't only apply to food
"Revenge."- pushthestartbutton
Let the flavor develop
"Banana bread."
"2 totally different flavors depending on warm vs cold from fridge."- nonkowledge
So many to choose from!
"Sandwiches."- Designer-Usual1691
A matter of textural preference
"Cheese, ya fools."- eat_dontpray_love
Under a hot greek sun, or during a cold winter's eve.
"Spanakopita."- mrsxpando
While there's no better smell than a batch of chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, those eating them the next day likely aren't missing out either.