It's Not a Phase, Dad!

Or: How do you explain your hobby to a non-hobbyist

“Are you building those little transformers again?” never fails to amuse me, and from an outside perspective I can see how someone without any context might view the Gunpla hobby. How many times have you had to describe your hobby to someone, be it a friend, a colleague, your parents or that weird uncle you only see at Thanksgiving? How do we explain our hobbies to the uninitiated? 

There was a time when I almost gave up modeling altogether. When I moved out of my parent’s place so many years ago, I packed up all my model kits, tools, supplies and paints in a big box. I disastrously mixed up which boxes were coming with me and which were going to the landfill.

It was incredibly disheartening.

By the time I had realized my mistake, it was far too late to do anything about it. I lamented this to my famously overbearing Asian father (those who know, know) who told me in no uncertain terms that I should grow up and leave that childish stuff in the past. I couldn’t articulate to him at the time why all that “childish stuff” was important to me, and that it wasn’t so much the stuff itself, but what the stuff represented instead, I may as well have shouted the iconic retort “It’s not a phase, dad!”

With some hindsight, I can now explain it much more clearly: this hobby is how I recharge. Building models is my mindfulness practice. It’s not about productivity; it’s about being centered, present, and genuinely enjoying the time I carve out for myself. That’s the answer I wish I’d had ready back then.

Of course, not everyone gets it. Sometimes when you explain your hobby, you get the dreaded “...why?” As if “because it makes me happy” isn’t enough. But here’s the trick I’ve learned: flip the script. Ask them what their hobby is. Some people will light up and dive into telling you about their spoon collection. Others may pause, because it turns out a lot of folks don’t really have a hobby. That’s fine, because you’re not just explaining what you do: you’re reminding them why hobbies matter in the first place.

-Liam