By Darian Scalamoni
We’re nearing that time in the semester where our workload is beginning to be too much to handle, and many of us are starting to struggle with mental breakdowns. It’s important that when stress begins to take over, we find a way of coping to get our minds off of our schoolwork, social life stress or personal issues that we’re working through.
The more responsibilities we add to our plates, the more susceptible we are to stress, and happiness becomes something that can easily be thrown out the window. I’m here to tell you that there’s a way to escape the strenuous worry we develop during the course of the semester over passing our classes.
Creativity is a beautiful thing. By definition, creativity is the use of the imagination or the expression of original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work. While the word — work — might be in the definition of creativity, through personal experiences I can say that being creative is a type of work that is therapy for the soul. Being creative is more of a refreshing feeling, rather than a stressful feeling, that blossoms from multiple parts of the body whether we are expressing ourselves by mouth in singing or by hand in drawing.
Creativity is a beautiful thing (envato elements).
Imagination is obviously important as our ideas fuel a different aspect of our brains. The older we get, the more we think it’s okay to push away that itch we get to do something original that ignites a passion inside us that is different than what we might do at school or in our day jobs. Honestly, the innovative action of creating is powerful and vital to our everyday lives and mental health.
One of the most creative minds today is Chance The Rapper. The Chicago-based music artist has not only had massive mainstream success in the music industry — winning multiple Grammy’s — but has also seen success in his creative process which has helped him design clothing, artwork, films and write poetry. More importantly, these creative outlets helped this artist get over an addiction to Xanax — one so serious that he was close to death, according to Transformations Treatment Center.
Within the process of generating original material, we build our ideas using our heads but implement them through our passions, which come from the heart. Put pen to paper or get behind a camera or an instrument, and do something that is more self-fulfilling than finishing an assignment.
While some aspects of life often get in the way of what might really be important, we must be self-expressive to detract from these said pressures. No matter the age, artistry takes a load off of us and gives us an outlet to express ourselves.
In a study of the health of the body and mind, it’s said that, “you can learn to use the power of your imagination to produce calming, energizing or healing responses in your body. You can use imagery and hypnosis to reduce anxiety, fear and panic,” according to Healthy.net. With results like that, why wouldn’t we want to take the time to express ourselves with a creative outlet?
Setting aside time to do the things we love refreshes us for when we have to do the stressful things like school work. Creative outlets not only keep us mentally sane, but inspire us to never stop pursuing what we all desire — happiness. Art showcases all the emotions we struggle with in everyday life, but it is also necessary to put ourselves in a positive state of mind, not only for the time being but also for the foreseeable future.
