I was blessed with watching my father try to turn his photography hobby into a profession. It flopped. Turns out you make a living as a photographer by shooting

I was blessed with watching my father try to turn his photography hobby into a profession. It flopped. Turns out you make a living as a photographer by shooting basically the same wedding every weekend during the summer. Not by selling the photos that you actually enjoy taking. He hasn’t taken a picture in nearly 20 years and IIRC finally sold his equipment around the start of the pandemic. The saga was hard to watch but at least I know with 100% certainty that my hobbies aren’t money makers and never will be. Does “everything seems to need a financial reason to exist now?” - no, it was like that 20 years ago too. Unless “now” refers to this millennium. My advice, CM30, is to get a little swagger in your step. Do your hobby, whatever it is, because you like it. And if you feel pressure from anyone to monetize it, cut that pressure out. Most likely, this just means unfollowing any “financial gurus” on social media or even cancelling your accounts all together. I actually like Instagram for hobby stuff but you’ve got to be judicious about how your train their algorithm.