For my four-year-old daughter, it’s all about do it yourself right now.
We start out life helpless, relying on someone for absolutely everything, then go through an independent phase (known as the “I can do it MYSELF!” phase when it comes to preschoolers). Later in life you finally feel like a grown-up, you’re making some money and the idea of paying someone to do things for you is very appealing, whether it be making your dinner, cleaning your bathroom or painting your toenails. And then one day, if you’re like me, you rediscover the joy of doing it yourself.
Sure, you could hire someone to decorate a cake for your child’s birthday, or buy a wondrously luxurious throw for the couch, but wouldn’t it be great if you could do these things all on your own? And that’s where our How To issue comes in.
Google “How To” and 19.5 billion results come up. Billion! One of the first things to pop up on my screen was “how to kiss.” Ah teenagers … . The website Pinterest has never been more popular – its purpose, if you’re not familiar with it, is to make you feel inadequate and unskilled while masquerading as a handy how to inspiration site. It seems almost everyone has a hobby they’ve turned into a thriving business, and it all started with them learning how to do something.
Perhaps the DIY movement comes from a time when you had no choice but to rely on yourself for everything. Working the land and raising animals to produce food, felling the trees to build a home, making your own clothing; there were no other options available and we were undoubtedly a stronger and more skilled people. Our survival depended on knowing how to do things, and we passed on these skills to the next generation. The early years of Pinterest, you might say!
Within these pages our writers share many how tos, from creating a dream landscape, to growing jellyfish, to keeping your brain sharp. We hope there is a lesson for everyone here and that just maybe, you’ll pass on what you’ve learned!
