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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

The leaves are changing colors, the weather is dropping and going to class is starting to feel optional… which means autumn has finally started!

Here are some stress-free and fun hobbies to start this fall if you are looking for a reason to take a break from your studies. 

Painting

Painting can be such a calming activity and it is actually known to provide stress relief. Whether you’re a pro or a beginner, painting allows you to let go of your other worries and focus solely on your artwork.

You could also make it your own by finding your favorite medium. This is a big part of what makes painting so fun; it can be as personalized as you want.

Once you find the medium that you connect to and excel at, you can start to develop your own art style or theme.

I love working with oil pastels and found that I mostly like painting nature. When I first started painting, though, I started with acrylic paint and well… it wasn’t my best. While it may not have been good, I always enjoyed my time painting. 

As you take up this hobby this season, you could spice up your art and make it festive by pulling inspiration from what you see around you. For instance, you can find pumpkin patch to capture or take a trip to the Arboretum and paint the ever-changing leaves! 

crocheting

Crocheting is so relaxing and you can do it while you binge watch your favorite horror movies, for example.

After a couple YouTube tutorials, it’s not too difficult to learn.

A project I love for this season are fingerless gloves. Floating around on Pinterest, there are these popular ones that have hearts on the top that I think would be a cute to any fall wardrobe.

I haven’t attempted to do this one myself, but I bought some on Etsy from another creator and they are a staple in my fall (and winter) outfits.

Crochet tops have also been in style this year, so once you get more comfortable with crocheting, you could learn how to make your own. I feel like it’s so cool to have clothing pieces that you have created yourself.

If you start learning to crochet this fall, by Christmas time you could become a pro and have the ability to make your favorite people a personalized gift.  

baking

I love baking when I’m bored or stressed out. It’s relaxing and you get a little treat once you’re done. It’s also so fun to find new recipes to try that correlate with the current season.

You could make any ordinary dessert into a fall treat simply by the shape. For fall-themed baked goods, you can make anything shaped as pumpkins, leaves or even little ghosts and it will fit the season perfectly.

I found this recipe and tried it earlier this year where you make flower cookies out of Funfetti mix. When I gave them out, everyone loved them (including myself)— and they looked adorable.

While I did pull inspiration from this recipe, I made it my own and had them fall-themed by using Halloween Funfetti and shaping/decorating the cookies to resemble pumpkins. I got a little creative with it and used black sprinkles for the jack-o’-lantern faces. 

Another treat I have yet to try but have gotten all the ingredients for are these pumpkin shaped cinnamon rolls:

I’ve seen a couple of recipes like this, with the pumpkin shaped bread, though some aren’t strictly cinnamon rolls and instead just sourdough bread loaves. This makes it easy to remake and customize it to your liking.

All you need to get the shape is baker’s twine. Other than that, find your favorite bread recipe and enjoy your cute little pumpkin pastry. 

journaling

This one is a great hobby to start in the fall, but it’s also something that could help you all year. Personally, I love journaling during this time of the season because of the warm and homey feel that fall weather brings. 

Cozying up in your favorite coffee shop with your fall drink of choice and writing about anything and everything on your mind can be so refreshing. Having an outlet to let all your crazy or mundane thoughts out is good to cleanse your aura.  

Journaling is not only calming, but can also be so enjoyable because of how personalized the process is.

You don’t need to just write to keep a clear mind, you could do absolutely anything in your journal. Whether that’s drawing, painting or even taping something into the journal, it’s your outlet to do whatever you please.

While you can start these hobbies whenever, fall brings a cozy feel to everything during the season that could make these hobbies even more relaxing and peaceful than usual.

So, while you contemplate going to that 9 a.m., you can journal about it. Or plan to bake yourself something so you have a little treat to look forward to after a long day of classes.

A fourth-year student at Penn State studying English with a passion for Journalism. When she is not writing, she is making Pinterest boards, painting, curled up with a good book or listening to Ethel Cain!