I’ve always admired people who have made a success out of their hobbies, but there is none who has made it quite like Marie Kondo. I discovered Marie’s fascinating story a few weeks ago in an article about tidying up. Marie spoke about something called ‘spark joy’—a technique she developed. One by one you hold your belongings close to you. If they induce a sense of happiness, i.e. ‘spark joy’, then they are worth keeping. Otherwise, let them go. I was intrigued! ‘Spark joy’ isn’t the only technique that Marie developed. Her book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, talks about the ‘KonMari method’, another process she up came with. But what inspired her in the first place When she was a little girl, her mother would persuade her to clean her room and keep her things properly. Living spaces in Japan are tiny, so Marie had to think carefully about what to keep to have a truly neat and organized room. But she had so much fun cleaning that after she finished her room, she started cleaning her brother’s room and then her parents’ room and slowly the entire house. Marie soon began thinking of her hobby as a way of life. Why do I bring up the story of Marie Because this is Tinkle Digest’s Hobbies Issue! While we all have hobbies such as dancing, painting, sports, etc, we only think of them as extracurricular activities. But Marie turned a very unique hobby into her life’s mission and look at how high she has soared! Perhaps if we all dedicate ourselves as much to our hobbies we will all fly as high as Marie Kondo!