Like pretty much everyone I know, I am on a never-ending quest to reduce my screen time. I recently got asked about the hobbies I did as a child, and this got me thinking about what I did with all my free time before I had (somewhat) adult responsibilities. What bubbled up in my memory was an eclectic list of activities: playing music, putting on magic shows, pressing flowers, building Lego, and doing origami. Yes, I was a slightly strange child — and no, I didn’t have many friends, but that is beside the point.
I decided, amongst the piles of fourth year dissertation work and endless admin that I have to do, that my main priority for the week was to master origami once more. Here I am, sharing my Odyssean learning journey with you.
Day 1
I come home from the writers’ meeting and google “where to buy origami paper near me” and “can you build an origami chameleon.” My two goals are locked in for the week. My flatmates laugh at how evolved my procrastination methods have become.
Day 2
It’s 9am, I have four meetings today, and I am in Ryman’s stationery shop searching for origami paper. I sheepishly ask the cashier whether they have it, and she shakes her head sadly at me. I strike gold at Blackwells and leave triumphantly with 200 sheets of paper, including a beginners’ handbook to origami. I am also twelve pounds out of pocket.
Day 3
I discover that I am not very good at following instructions and repeatedly end up with a piece of paper folded many, many times that doesn’t even closely resemble my desired endpoint. I also discovered that rather than mindfulness, as I hoped, I am feeling a lot of anger.
Day 4
The world of YouTube is a wonderful and fruitful thing, and I have found my inner peace again. I manage to fold a shakily asymmetrical origami star as well as something that could be a cat.
Day 5
I rope a friend into origami-ing with me, and we embark on folding Totoro and Ponyo from his bespoke Studio Ghibli book. I develop what can only be described as origami fatigue, and sit seething quietly I watch friend, who as it turns out has a real knack for the craft, expertly brings the characters to life.
Day 6
I persevere. My skills do not seem to have particularly improved, but I continue to attempt to create a variety of worldly objects and animals, to varying degrees of success.
Day 7
On my last day of self-mandated origami folding, I am sad to leave it behind. As with so many tried-and-dropped hobbies, I didn’t unearth a previously hidden natural talent, yet I greatly enjoyed myself. Knowing that I had to park my university stress for at least 10 minutes every day was surprisingly refreshing, even for something as seemingly mundane as folding up pieces of paper. So if I can summon up the courage to try something new, you can too — go on, give it a go!
Image by Lucy Fradin.
