My dad thinks it's a bad idea to build a gaming PC
Throwaway account because I fear I might get flak on this.
I'm building a very expensive PC for gaming because I've always wanted one for gaming, a desktop in general and I believe the possibilites are limitless with one. I want to try and do things with it but I haven't really found the time and motivation to really do it tbh, like learning Blender 3D modelling.
I had a talk with my dad last night about building it and I told him how much it would cost. He was shocked by the price and he doesn't think it's worth it because he doesn't think a PC in my case is an investment if it's solely for gaming (and he's right, it isn't, but that's not what I wanted in building this). He made me feel more discouraged to build one in the first place because it would not bring me income and even though I'm still going to follow through, it just makes me feel like he doesn't respect the hobby. He's not trying to stop me at least which is good but the whole conversation just made it feel like it was not worth investing in a hobby that brought me enjoyment. I know this project would bring me a lot of it and it holds value to me because I would get happiness and fulfilment out of it.
What bothers me as well is what he said about hobbies. He told me that he would've respected my decision to build a PC more if I was using it to build AI which would can generate income and is a trending topic. He's not wrong in that it would be good to find other things to do with my PC other than just gaming but it seemed like he was talking about how hobbies are really only worthwhile when they return income to you. That's not true. People engage in a lot of hobbies that don't always generate return and they still find fulfilment out of it because it brings them joy and a way of bonding with other people. That's what I get out of building a PC, happiness... I could come up with a list of hobbies that don't generate financial return or they can but they don't always generate high value.
I'm still going to go through with the PC build because it would not be worth stopping now as I have already accumulated half of the required components and it's not going to generate any value if I sell now, but it will give me value by building it. I feel shameful that I want to put this much effort and financial resources (I should mention that I am budgeting, being financially conservative and have set a timeline) and I shouldn't even bother engaging in gaming in the first place - it's not worthwhile. Practically it doesn't make sense to stop, but emotionally, i feel hurt and discouraged. I don't blame him for sharing his opinion and I appreciate that he's not trying to stop me, I just disagree with him and he made me feel like it's just not worth it when it actually does.