Building It Yourself

After becoming a home owner I have become very interested in fixing, and building things myself.  Despite my strong academic background I have always been fond of making things with my hands.  That is one of the reasons that I went into nursing.  The requirement to master tactile skills and put them to use on a daily basis (above and beyond typing of course.)

There are a lot of good reasons to learn to build things yourself.

- It tends to be cheaper to buy the components and assemble it yourself as oppose to buying the product already made.  This keeps the cash in your pocket instead of thoughtfully sending it to somebody else.

-It's good entertainment.  Any project when approached with the right attitude can be a lot of fun.  You learn and toy around with the project as you go making the process an entertaining pursuit.

-It leaves a sense of pride with you.  Not just immediately after you build the object but every time that you use it you can feel a sense of pride at what you've created; and humans were meant to create.

-If you made it you can fix it.  If you made an object you are familiar with all its components and how they are assembled.  This means that when the thing breaks instead of running to a professional to repair it or chucking the whole thing and buying a new one you can fix it yourself.

-It is incredibly empowering.  We live in an age where we depend on specialists to do things for us.  What we tend to forget is that they are humans just like us.  Now I'm not recommending that you try and take out your own appendix or anything so drastic.  I do recommend that you challenge the idea that you are not capable of what another human is capable off.  No man is an island and empowering yourself does not mean that you can't depend on others from time to time.  What is does mean is that you should be able to depend on yourself.

So go build something, learn a new skill, and enjoy what you've accomplished.

Have a question?  I'd love to hear it!