Hobbyist to Pro
Once upon a time I was bored at home looking at my small patio in my apartment and thought to myself, why don’t I build a fence for a nice private patio surround? Great idea. So off to the hardware store I went for my first circular saw, a square, construction lumber and hand-drawn schematics.
About 2 weeks later and over 100 listens of Drake’s “Views” album I had a fence. Well that was nice. I got a set of string lights, a patio set and voila, I had my own little nook of privacy. The fourteen days of manual labor was in the rearview and I didn’t think anything of it.
It wasn’t until 4 years later I was racking my brain about a creative outlet to pass my free time when I found myself enrolled in the beginner course of Youtube University of Woodworking. I spent a solid 6 months consuming as much information as I could, then I made a conscious choice that I was going to gamble a future on this hobby of mine. Keep in mind I only built a patio fence at this point… but you only live once though, right?
They say ignorance is bliss, and I couldn’t agree more. Although in order to break cyclic patterns you have to try new things with a headstrong attitude and a work ethic that’ll pick up the slack. So there I was with the second biggest investment of my life in tools a dream and the will to prove to myself I could really do this. It’s funny because to sit here and say the beginning stages were tough, would imply that the “toughness” is over, which it most definitely is not.
No matter how much I’ve learned since my hobbyist days, I’m always humbled involuntarily by new lessons and hard truths that are always so much deeper than I ever anticipated. You know they say you’re closer to someone who’s good at a sport than they are to someone that is great? I find this idea compounded frequently.
Over the past five years I’ve learned so much about woodworking, wood and myself. The building blocks of a great artisan starts with his mind and how disciplined he is. This is the greatest skill I’ve learned from woodworking. Planning pieces down to the cut, being patient and methodical while keeping an even temperament and frustration clear away from the project is key to making a wonderful piece of furniture.
Every new project, new joinery method and new ways of harnessing my mind moves the needle further for me and compels me to invest more and more into this wonderful craft. What was once a hobby is now my life and I wouldn’t trade a minute I’ve spent and will continue to spend sharpening my skills as a craftsman.