{
  "id": 9120908,
  "title": "Revisiting Childhood Hobbies Is a Way to Learn Who You Are as an Adult",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/revisiting-childhood-hobbies-is-a-way-to-learn-who-you-are-as-an-adult",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-22T10:00:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Time",
    "slug": "time",
    "url": "https://time.com/article/2026/09/22/revisiting-childhood-hobbies-is-a-way-to-learn-who-you-are-as-an-adult/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The article explores how revisiting childhood hobbies can provide insight into one's identity as an adult. A ballet instructor from the past is likened to the instructors the author remembers hearing as a child, such as \"Plié first position\" and \"Keep your heels down.\" The author recalls performing ballet steps even after a decade without practice, demonstrating an ability to recall the steps despite physical challenges.\n\nPsychology professor Dan P. McAdams of Northwestern University emphasizes that bringing back a hobby that one enjoyed in childhood can be a positive experience, allowing for integration of past interests into one's life. Similarly, author Kristen Martin reflects on her grandmother's knitting, which she revisited in adulthood, finding it relaxing and a way to channel her focus without full attention.\n\nBenjamin Vigeant, a social media manager, recounts a long-lost hobby of pinball that he rekindled in his late 20s, eventually leading to the creation of a pinball league in Chicago. He notes the competitive aspect of the hobby as a draw.\n\nThe article cites research by psychologist Hollen Reischer, who explains that narrative identity encompasses a person's evolving story, including past experiences, present actions, and imagined futures. Returning to a childhood hobby allows engagement with all three aspects simultaneously. The article concludes by noting that revisiting childhood hobbies can offer a way to reconnect with one's inner child, reclaiming parts of one's story and fostering personal growth.",
  "summary": "Returning to a childhood hobby can engage the past as we remember it, the present, and the future we imagine, writes Rainesford Stauffer.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}