They say the pen is mightier than the sword. In my case, it’s true. I find it much more life-changing to make a simple doodle on paper than to start a fight. Not only because it’s such a fun hobby, but also because it has benefited my life in so many ways. It can be the same for anyone, so let’s look at why drawing can be such a good hobby to have.
After a long day of school, I find myself so exhausted that all I wanna do is draw. It’s so satisfying to spread my fingers across the digital canvas and make my imagination come to life. After that, I feel so much better and feel as if I’ve been productive. In Sage Neuroscience Center’s article, “How Art Therapy Can Relieve Stress,” there’s a theory called art therapy. According to the author, art therapy is “A form of mental health treatment using the media and the patient’s creativity to therapeutically process and understand emotions while creating art.” It comes with many benefits, most notably, reduction of stress and anxiety. They explain why by stating, “Art therapy allows the client to get their mind off whatever may be bothering them, even if it’s just for a brief period. Creating art helps many slow down, allowing them to relax, de-stress, and tap into their creativity.”
Drawing can also help you express your thoughts, feelings, and ideas. That’s something I’ve struggled with a lot, putting into words how I feel about something. Or putting something into words in general. But drawing has really helped me create a visual explanation of what I want to say. It can work for you too! In the article, “4 Ways Art Can Help You Express Your Feelings” at Meraki Behavioral Health, Lindsay Wallick claims that art can change our perspectives a little, and let us see life in a whole new way. It can provide us a path to follow, so we can think positive and look on the bright side when things are getting rough. Wallick adds, “Art can help us change our perspective and this goes a long way to help you express your feelings. When you can change the way you see things you will be able to express yourself in a more controlled way.” It’s like stepping into a portal and entering a world of endless possibilities where you’re in control. You can do things your way and tell the story however you want. The song isn’t called “A Whole New World” for nothin’!
I once read a claim that said writing in a different color can help improve your memory. It seems like when we see something in color, we tend to remember it more than when we see something that’s just plain black and white. Maybe that’s why cartoons back then are so memorable. Art has that same kind of power. When you let the colors flow on a page, you can gain some really good memory-boosting skills. The 21 Draw’s article “11 Health Benefits of Drawing,” claims that art can help you boost your “recollection skills.” They state, “Drawing forces us to utilize our ‘mental storage’ skills to recall a range of techniques and artistic knowledge. Subconsciously, this process of revisiting our visual library and artistic imagination helps our brain strengthen its ability to remember things.” It’s just so funny to me that sometimes, I learn more from my hobbies than I do school. But I guess everyone feels that way. We learn from life and remember those lessons more than we remember stuff in school.
Some might argue that drawing is actually really bad because it requires a lot of physical space, accuracy, and eats up a lot of your time. While they are pretty reasonable to think that, it should be noted that drawing is a great way to manage your time. In the article “The Art of Destressing: How Creativity Creates Less Stress,” by MQ Mental health research, they observe that drawing can not only help you build time-management skills, but feel less nervous about due dates. They state, “Creative projects can provide a sense of purpose and structure, helping to reduce anxiety about time management, giving you something to look forward to and providing a consistent plan for your brain and body a way to reduce stress built up through the day, week, or month.”
Finally, one of the best parts about drawing is that there are no rules. You’re allowed to draw in whatever style you want. Whether you’ve got a realistic style like Leonardo da Vinci or a more abstract and colorful style like Wassily Kandinsky, no one can tell you that you’ve done it all wrong. And it doesn’t matter whether you draw on paper or on an electronic device like me– either way, you’re making something great.
Overall, drawing is a really fun hobby to have. It’s great for your mental health; it gives you some brain-boosting skills; and it’s just a really fun hobby to do. Hopefully you’ll agree that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. There ain’t nothing better than seeing all those colors on paper or a screen.