Creativity, art and hobbies are a huge part of my life and consistently neglecting time for these activities affects me in a negative way. Including creative projects during my week is part of my self-care routine and a way for me to take some time for myself. I talked with a lot of my friends about what they do to fuel their creativity and what hobbies they make time for during the semester. Some talked about how they don’t feel like they have any hobbies or creative talents. I think people often consider hobbies and talents to complement one another, but you don’t need to be good at something to enjoy it. Other friends explained how they have creative projects, but they are too time consuming to do often. As a senior in college, I know that making time for hobbies and feeding your creativity can be difficult, so let’s talk about quick and easy ways to incorporate some creativity.
With a busy schedule, I am all about multitasking, and one way I like to do this is by redecorating my space often. Whenever I am cleaning my apartment, I love to rearrange as I go and I’m constantly adding new items that I found or made myself. A fresh new look and clean space always improves my mental health, and I love changing up the look of my apartment and getting creative with how I arrange or decorate shelves. Another method I use to get some exercise while still being creative is going on walks and taking pictures as I go, whether it’s a good sky picture or pretty scenery. I’ve been really into photography lately, especially when it comes to sunsets, and I think it’s fun to change out the lighting and angles. For this, you don’t need a fancy camera and you can just use your phone, so it is a free way to take a study break, be creative and get some fresh air!
Instead of scrolling on Instagram and TikTok all day, add Pinterest into the rotation. Pinterest has given me millions of ideas throughout the years and there is always something new that I want to try, whether it’s a recipe, an outfit, a new book or inspiration for a new painting. After using Pinterest for so long, I always prefer to scroll through it rather than Instagram because it’s a lot better for my mental health. There are also a lot of creative ideas I get from TikTok, and I do love making a TikTok video every once in a while as a creative outlet. Something I have recently discovered that I really enjoy is using my own photos and Pinterest photos to create a vision board for my laptop and phone backgrounds. You can use Canva, Photoshop or similar websites to create this and several of my friends have been asking me to create one for them as well! Another great and free tool for making vision boards is Landing. This is a website where you can create and share your own vision boards and see what other users make. You can also like or save the boards, similar to any other social media.
If you’re looking for a way to combine your creativity and fashion sense in an environmentally friendly way, go thrifting! One of my favorite ways to be creative is to go to thrift stores for clothes, books, furniture and decor. I love taking furniture and decor and “flipping” it to give it a fresh new look that suits my style. It is also fun to go thrifting and find unique clothing items and then create outfits with clothes you already have. If you don’t want to go thrifting, I also recommend going through your own closet and finding pieces you don’t wear much and creating new outfits with those!
Simply painting and drawing are tried and true ways to express your creativity and you can get most supplies for an affordable price through dollar stores, craft stores and Walmart. A fun idea I saw on TikTok is to get together with your friend(s) and each take a canvas and start painting, then switch every five minutes. The end result will include some very unique canvases! You can also switch up the canvas and paint on plant pots, lampshades, vases, jars or whatever else you can find. My apartment is full of all of these and they were so fun to create.
If you have no idea where to start, you can always go to the Target dollar section or a craft store to find different kits for a range of interests, like blanket making or jars to paint. Craft stores like Hobby Lobby have pamphlets scattered throughout the store with all kinds of ideas from flowers, beads, yarn, fabric, clay and everything in between.
Last but certainly not least, try to create a playlist for yourself to fit a certain aesthetic or mood. I love creating new playlists on Spotify with fun names. My currently most used playlist is one that includes soundtracks from multiple late 1990s to early 2000s Rom-Coms. That was so fun to make and is always fun to hear.
I hope you found some of these suggestions helpful and take the time to add creativity into your week, whether it’s to take care of your mental health, try new activities with friends or find new hobbies!