I feel like we all reach a point in the school year, sometimes multiple points, when we all just feel completely exhausted and burnt out from our responsibilities at school, a job, or even an extracurricular. No matter how hard we try to push ourselves to be productive, sometimes it can be hard to find the mental strength to keep moving forward. There have been so many times throughout my college career where I’ve gotten stuck in a rut and I’ve desperately needed to give my mind a break. Most of the time when I get into this fatigued state, I try to take a step back from all the work and indulge in activities that make me happy. The less stress inducing the activity is the better. Thankfully, I’ve found different creative outlets that have been incredibly helpful in taking my mind off the strains of reality.
A creative outlet that has been a personal favorite of mine lately is writing. Since I’ve become a writer for Her Campus, I’ve had a tremendous amount of fun getting to express myself and having the opportunity to write about topics I’m interested in. It’s certainly a refreshing break from writing dozen page research papers for my college classes.
I think it’s extremely important for everyone’s well-being to have a means to express themselves in a relaxed and healthy way. If you’re looking to explore some new creative outlets, I’ve come up with a list of some of my favorites and a few I haven’t tried yet.
Cooking/Baking
Since I’ve entered college, cooking for myself has become an important part of my daily routine. Having takeout every night doesn’t sound as appealing as it might have been in the past and I’ve definitely missed my family’s home cooked meals. Not only is cooking a meal a perfect chance to get inventive, but it’s also a nice way to shift your focus from your assignments and put your focus toward making sure the recipe goes as planned!
Painting/Drawing
As I’ve grown older, I realize how little time I spend creating art and just how much time I spend working on assignments for school. Drawing and painting used to be things I was really passionate about. I loved creating different art pieces to hang on my bedroom walls or to give to my friends. Whenever I would paint, I could count on hours of time to fly by and I wouldn’t have any other care in the world but to focus on my art. For me, drawing and painting always allowed me to escape to a more peaceful state.
Photography/Dancing/poetry
While I’ve tried out and found a few of my favorite creative outlets, there’s some I haven’t personally considered that sound exciting! Dancing is a creative outlet that’s great for getting your body moving, reducing stress, and for releasing endorphins in the brain. Photography is another outlet that allows for a wide range of creative expression and is a great activity to do by yourself or with friends. Finally, you can explore writing poetry. This is a wonderful way to practice putting all of your emotions into words in a unique and artistic way.
This is just a small list of some creative outlets that have helped me get out of hard places. I encourage you to explore different kinds and find which one brings you the most joy. Even if you don’t consider yourself a creative person, I am almost certain that every single person out there has a creative outlet that will bring them happiness. If you still find yourself feeling stressed out from your responsibilities, it’s also important to remind yourself that your job or your schoolwork doesn’t have to consume your entire life. Take the time to reflect on what makes you the most happy and find more time to incorporate those activities into your life.