BYUH alumnus shares his experience learning multiple hobbies and encourages others to discover their own
People are generally multi-passionate and are not constrained by one flame but rather fueled by a multitude of sparks within, said Zaphnath-Paaneah Antonio Villanueva, a BYU–Hawaii alumnus from the Philippines who majored in marine biology and education.
He continued, “We should embrace the beauty of being multi-passionate. For in the weaves in our hearts, countless dreams create a masterpiece of purpose and fulfillment in our lives. It is indebted to us, and all we have to do is to look for it and make sure that we use it.
“Growing up in a typical [Latter-day Saint] family [and] being the second of four siblings, we were taught the importance of learning life skills, developing talents and finding more than one hobby. The lessons I learned earlier in life helped me to where I am now today,” Villanueva said.
The beginnings
When he was 10 years old, Villanueva said his desire to be multi-passionate over many things started when he was in Primary. “I joined the children’s choir group. After every successful practice we had, our leaders would constantly challenge us to learn a musical instrument.” He accepted the invitation, he said, and went on and learned how to play the flute at a young age.
During his teenage years, he said he was supported by his parents who blessed him with resources to use for his hobbies and passions. Additionally, he said he continued joining workshops, events, musical instrument classes and school and church activities to further the challenge he received during his Primary days. “I was not shy joining these events. I became honest to the people I met that I wanted to learn, thus helping me gain my self-confidence,” he said.
Villanuevas said he joined most of his friends who are also learning different hobbies. “Meeting new people and hanging out with my friends helped me develop such a multi-potentiality mindset in life. It continued for a while until I began to learn other things like playing the ukulele and guitar, swimming and playing ping pong,” he said.
“Above all my early discovered passions and preparations, I wanted to pursue my education at BYU–Hawaii. It is the place that I feel will work well with what I wanted for my career and to expand my skills, hobbies and talents,” he said.
Balancing lifes passions
Before his acceptance to BYUH, Villanueva said he was interested in topics regarding nature and climate change. “Besides the hobbies, skills and talents that I learned before I came here, I have a deep desire and sincere love for nature. The closest thing to what I wanted for my career is to be a marine biologist, and luckily it is offered in this diverse institution,” Villanueva said.
He said his reasons for coming to BYUH were to expand his knowledge about wildlife and nature, and simultaneously expand his passion for his hobbies and skills and to network with people he comes in contact with.
Besides, nature and climate change, Villanueva said he wanted to learn more while he’s here. “When I came here, I started to meet new friends,” he said. As a result, he said he learned how to play basketball and occasionally joined research groups on various topics. Additionally, he mentioned his love for the outdoors grew and he was introduced to several hikes around Oahu. Villanueva said he learned a new method of fishing, which is spear-fishing, a traditional way of catching fish in Hawaii.
An alumnus from Bacolod City, Philippines, Florencio Lotayo, said, “As one of his friends, our friendship is affected in a positive way because of his various hobbies. It comes with various benefits and blessings to our circle of friends.” He said explained his newly discovered hobby of spearfishing gave him the chance to cook good food for them.
Whenever Villanueva catches fish, Lotayo said he helps him with the cleaning and serves everyone with food. Lotayo said their friendship for years was a win-win because Villanueva’s hobby of catching fish helps him to cook good food for our other friends.
Raianne Sereene Baysa Villanueva, a senior from Isabela, Philippines majoring in clinical and counseling psychology and social work said, “As [Zaphnath Villanueva’s] wife, I do my best to provide him the space and time that he needs to pursue his passion. One lesson I learned recently from my psychology professor at BYU–Hawaii is that change happens when you treat people for who they can become. So, I try to incorporate that in our marriage by letting him figure out things on his own, believing in his ability to self-actualize.”
Moreover, Zaphnath Villanueva said balancing his passion for multi-hobbies was not hard for him. “I make sure that I allow myself to make time for it. It does not matter how long I am doing it in a day, as long as I am consistent and making time for it, my knowledge about my hobbies and skills remains,” he said. He explained he set schedules for each of his hobbies and made sure that it was not hindering him from being effective at work, in his personal life and in school.
Raianne Villanueva said they both believe they have to nurture their separate identities. She said it is important to recognize that they both need to reach their potential as a couple and as individuals. She said, “I demonstrate this by allowing him to personalize his own study area. While I take charge of cleaning and decorating our apartment, I make sure that he could infuse his own personal style of learning as a way of reminding him to be true to himself.”