I faked my excitement. It's the universal polite way of receiving a strange, disappointing gift.

It was also from my grandmother, and there was no way I was going to let that precious little old lady see any disappointment in my face as I opened up my brand new "adult coloring book." When I returned home from Christmas at her house, however, I rolled my eyes and threw the book in my closet. I concluded that to my grandmother, I will forever be five years old.

At almost every Dirty Santa game I played this Christmas, adult coloring books and colored pencils were always hot gifts that were stolen and fought over all throughout the game. The drawn designs of nature inside looked extremely detailed and elaborate, and it seemed that completing just one would take a few hours. I was confused at why all these people wanted to dive into something so pointless and time-consuming.

It turned out that most of my family and a lot of my friends had been given coloring books this Christmas, and I began to notice them lining the aisles in stores like Barnes & Noble and Walmart. I also heard of coloring coffee shops and cafes where people would go to simply color in their books and relieve stress. I read on CNN and in the New York Times where these books were beginning to top the bestseller lists.

I was still being my stubborn self and thinking I was too cool to enjoy something as childish as coloring when, a few days later, my grandmother invited me to her house to get started on the books with her. I can't say no to that lady. And I haven't really stopped coloring in the books since.

I shouldn't have knocked it until I tried it. This new fad has taken off for a reason, and it's the most relaxing activity I've found in a long time. I've always had problems with stress and anxiety, as I'm sure many people do. Focusing my mind on this one activity that relates to art, which is something I've always enjoyed, zones me out and brings a much needed calm. Plus, staying in these lines with colored pencils is a hundred times easier than painting, pastels, charcoal, and all the other art media I've tried over the years. Which means much less frustration and enjoying the activity that much more.

So I suppose coloring is "cool" now. Or maybe not. Maybe it's still lame and childish and millions of people, as well as myself, all decided that we didn't care if we were lame or not. No matter how it's viewed, I'm happy to have taken up a new hobby as calming as this. It's no wonder that psychiatrists have been prescribing coloring to patients for decades.

Once again, my grandmother was right and knew exactly what gift I needed. I should listen to her more often.