Theatre and art programs in schools could arguably be the most important opportunity offered in a person's life. Not only is being involved in your school or local theatre program beneficial for you currently, but it will also benefit you in your future endeavors. People make the quick assumption that theatre is strictly for kids who have a knack for public speaking, or that drawing is for people who have always been good at it, but that is so far from the truth.

People don’t look at all of the amazing possibilities and opportunities it brings to a person’s life. The arts are extremely important in the education system, they provide kids with so many life lessons and positive personality traits. Without further ado, here are the top 5 reasons why the arts are so dang important.

1. It helps you do better in school.

Students involved in the arts are actually likely to score 65 points higher on their SAT. If you're a midwesterner like myself, that's raising your ACT over a whole point. Maybe that doesn't seem like much to you, but for some students, that's the difference between pursuing a college career or not.

2. It's proven to release stress.

Whether you're a modern day Shakespeare or Picasso, or you don't even know who either of those people are, there's nothing quite as therapeutic as having a release to your creative side. The average person has over 60,000 thoughts per day. Yes, 60,000. Sitting down, getting into the zone, and releasing your creative side is clinically proven to give you a release from your constant thoughts and pushes away some of your worries for a while. I don't care if you sit and draw stick figures, or just belt out your favorite jams in the car, I'm sure there's a few of our 60,000 thoughts we'd like to escape for a while.

3. It helps boost your self-esteem and build confidence.

You know the feeling you had when your parents would hang your crayon masterpieces on the fridge when you were a little kid? You were pretty proud of that. Being rewarded for something that makes you feel good will sky rocket a person's confidence. Self esteem and confidence issues will rock anyone's childhood. It sucks to not believe in yourself, so why not change that? You don't have to be the lead on Broadway to feel good about what you do. I'm sure your childhood drawing wasn't exactly Louvre worthy, but that didn't stop you from being damn proud. Whether you painted the new Mona Lisa, swept the Grammy's like Bruno Mars, or are just a little kid admiring your dinosaur drawing on the fridge, it makes you feel good about yourself, and confidence is admirable.

4. It will give you some extremely useful life skills.

Life is about making connections. Coming to college and slowly entering the real world will tell you a lot about yourself. I went to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere Nebraska where everyone knew who I was since I was 5 years old. Now I live in a dorm building that houses more people than my hometown, and had I not had the arts growing up I wouldn't have been able to put myself out there. It'll come in handy someday when you're dying to get your dream job, or putting yourself out there to get the number of your dream man. Maybe it's the difference between how you interview compared to the person before you, or how you were too shy to raise your hand in class when you really don't know what's going on. The arts could be that difference.

5. It's actually really fun!

Yes, believe it or not you might actually have a pretty good time. I know it may seem terrifying to think of speaking in front of other people or working on a huge art project, but you may be surprised at how much fun you actually have. You don't have to be center stage, or have pieces in galleries to be having a good time. You could be doing the lights and sound for a community theatre, singing some karaoke, or doing finger painting. I promise it won't make it any less enjoyable

Maybe I haven't convinced you, or maybe you're heading out to audition for Hamilton right now. Either way, I hope you took something from this. The arts have shaped us more than we know, and whether we are slightly or heavily involved in them they can open so many doors for us. Now get out there, paint a portrait of your dog, reenact your favorite movie scene, or belt out some karaoke because the arts are pretty dang important.