The middle of a semester can be nerve-wracking and full of stress. This last week has left me fumbling over things I need to do and homework to complete. But I know that is a quick and easy way to burn out. This is why I always love searching for calm, inspiring things to do.
While Pinterest likely isn’t new to many people, I never got into making boards until very recently. Ever since then, when I need to amp myself up to do some work or write, I usually will open Pinterest, scroll for a few minutes, and when I close the app, I am refreshed and full of inspiration.
That habit brought me to one of my new favorite apps: Landing. It’s a way to create digital collages and moodboards in a way that Pinterest previously couldn’t, and when I tell you it is so calming and revitalizing, I mean it. I have made collages of people studying, writers writing, and musicians to get motivated. Sometimes, I open the app, having no idea what I will create, but I find something I attach to and make it pretty anyways.
It offers a quick and easy opportunity to create, but without the hassle of creating a physical collage with magazines by chopping out pictures and pasting them together. Though that is fun, most college students don’t have the space or supplies to access this.
Landing also is something you can do by yourself or with others to make it something more social. That’s also not to mention their app gives you an opportunity to post your collages. Other users can “sprinkle glitter,” which is basically the equivalent of liking them, but without generating a like-count. While you can follow other users, you also don’t have a follow count, making it a very straight-forward social media that focuses on the actual craft and not comparison.
College can be quite difficult at times, but even at the start of the semester, it is important to slow down and take breaks to not overwhelm yourself. Even when it feels like you cannot take time for yourself, sometimes time for yourself can make you more attentive overall, which is what creative outlets like this give opportunities to do.