Just some fun thoughts I have while working...
Wood is both a beautiful and frustrating medium to work with, so is it worth the trouble?
I'm a person who enjoys symmetry and order, so it may be surprising that I'm so enthralled with this imperfect building material. I admit that life is neither symmetrical nor orderly. Life is messy, it takes unexpected turns, sometimes it breaks, and sometimes it heals. Each tree lives a life imperfectly just like we do, and that journey is reflected in the wood. Taking a piece of lumber and turning it into a household item gives it a second life. I love using wood that shows a lot of bold grain.
Finding wood for a project takes a keen eye. For a project like a cabinet, you need lumber that is as straight and flat as you can find. Wood can be bowed, it can twist, it can crack, there can be hidden knots where you plan to cut, there can be too much moisture, and extreme temperatures can make wood expand or shrink. I won't even go into flat vs quarter vs rift sawn. You can open up a piece of wood and find that there was some kind of insect damage - and interestingly there are people that enjoy the unique design that damage adds (to each their own).
There are thousands of species of wood, but probably a dozen or so that are common in building. There are two main categories: Hardwoods and Softwoods. The names generally describes the resistance of these two types, but that doesn't mean that a softwood flops around like a wet spaghetti noodle. Most softwoods can be indented by pressing your thumbnail into it, so you usually don't use them for furniture that will be susceptible to regular bumps and bangs. That helps simplify the process of choosing the right wood for your project, but that's only the beginning of your options. If you're building something that needs to be sturdy and not mark up, the usual suspects among easy-to-find hardwoods are Maple, Oak, Cherry, Mahogany, and Walnut. Each has a different look and a different price point. There are also exotic species from other countries that have unique colors and grain patterns. It's a lot of fun to sometimes use multiple wood types that compliment one another.
I take the above quote to heart
Sometimes I measure three or four times, in fact. When it comes to making a cut that has no room for variance, or I'm cutting a long board that I only have one of, I don't want to cut it too short. More than a few times I've measured wrong and cut a board too short, forcing myself to find a new piece in my stock, or do the walk of shame back to the lumber supplier to buy one board. The cashier at the lumber supplier just shakes their head, "should have measured twice."
Just like rubbing a cat the wrong way, sometimes wood can bite you. I've accepted the fact that splinters come with the business and I've had my nasty share. It wouldn't surprise me if a 23andMe test revealed I now have 0.5% White Oak ancestry (get it, family tree?). I try to wear gloves when I work, but sometimes my bare hands can help sense that a cut I'm pushing is not going right, or I want to get a good feel for how smooth a sanded surface is. Thus, I accept the risk because sometimes you have to go for those fluffy belly rubs.