I had a strong interest in the following when I was younger:
- Lego
- K'nex (same idea as Lego, but able to do a lot more with it)
- Transformers
- Video games
- Drawing
Compared to right now, I've given up most of those. I still play video games, and I'm still do the odd drawing here & there (strangely enough, I've somehow gotten better at it despite the lack of practice). Probably the main "new" hobby I've acquired is playing the piano (took lessons years ago, stopped, and currently re-learning how to play; and again, I've oddly gotten better).
However, I haven't exactly dropped the hobby of playing with Lego & K'nex; rather, I've taken them to the logical conclusion. I'm in my final year of study for my civil engineering degree. With many of the courses making the leap from mere analysis to actual design, it's gotten a lot more interesting in the past year too. Heck, there seems to a running issue with a lot of students (myself included) looking too much into some of the questions we have to do for labs & homework; it's usually things which do apply to the circumstances (real world complications and such), just beyond the scope of what we should be doing (because we're still learning in a semi-idealized environment).
Another interesting off-shoot of the Lego/K'nex hobby is that I've gained a considerable amount of interest in level editors for games, particularly the Forge mode from the Halo franchise (or at I like to call it, "Digital Lego"). I haven't really gotten into many of the more advanced (and more flexible) level editors, but I just might some day... depending on if I have time to spare for that sort of thing.
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Anyhow, it's kinda fun to think that one of my childhood hobbies has had such a beneficial effect so far down the line; and if you play your cards right, you don't so much grow out of it as you just upgrade the tools & materials to do it. Lego bricks were replaced by steel and concrete, but the principle has hardly changed at all.
And I wouldn't be surprised if many of my fellow students had a similar interest when they were younger. The whole of the engineering department at my university is nerd central as it is, so there's also a strong interest in video games (among other geeky subjects) here as well.
It can be rather grueling at times, but it's fun as well. Engineering can be considered "Lego-for-grown-ups", and in many cases you're trying to make the things in your imagination a reality. A lot more rules to contend with, but working around limitations can be just as interesting (if not moreso) than not having to deal with them.
