A hobby is an activity that one engages in outside of work, and is usually an activity that one does because of great interest. The term “hobby” was derived from the name for an old fashioned wicker toy called a hobby horse.  This was shortened to hobby, and the word hobby eventually became used by people as a way to express a person enjoying a certain leisure activity. There are many different hobbies, which include, but are certainly not limited to; reading, gardening, collecting, cooking, scrapbooking, stamping, models, and outdoor activities. The list of available hobbies could fill pages, but suffice it to say, that any person regardless of age or interests, could find some type of hobby to engage in. 
     When considering a hobby, one must consider what they enjoy doing most with their leisure time. A hobby should be an activity that keeps a person’s interest for an extended period of time, and is within a person’s financial means. This does not have to be an action hobby such as remote control boats , cars, or planes, but can be a quiet activity such as bird-watching, or stamp collecting to name a few. Any hobby however needs to be decided on by the person undertaking is as their leisure activity of choice. When an activity is thrust upon on person, it is often not something the individual would choose on their own. Another thing to consider when choosing a hobby is your environment. For instance, if your hobby is an action one, do you have the ability to pursue that hobby close to home? If you desire to pursue something that interests you, you need to make sure that you are able to engage in and enjoy that activity without having to travel great distances each time you desire to do so.
     Hobbies are activities that can be undertaken and enjoyed by all people regardless of health, finances, location, or any other reason you can think of.  There are hobbies specifically designed in fact for those with disabilities. Some of these include wheelchair racing, adapted football, and wheelchair tennis, sail-boating and swimming. Some hobbies that used to only be offered to those without disabilities but are now commonplace hobbies among those with disabilities, are horse riding, fishing, hunting,  and dancing.
     One category of hobbies widely participated in by thousands of people, are known as action hobbies. These are hobbies that involve some type of vehicle that has a motor, battery or engine. Some of these vehicles are boats, sailplanes, airplanes, cars, helicopters and trains. In most areas there are clubs and groups dedicated to the pursuit of these hobbies. The people in these groups will often set aside certain weekends to get together and discuss new “toys” that have come out, take their “toy” of choice out and show them off, and spend hours talking about why their hobby is better than any other! All a person needs to do to start a hobby, is to find out what they love to do with their spare time, and then go after it.