One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was from my grandmother: it was an adult coloring book and colored pencils. As a 21-year-old, I was ecstatic about my new coloring book; I started coloring as soon as all of the presents were opened. I’ve actually never been so excited about coloring in my entire life and, the more pages I color, I find myself questioning why the younger me hated coloring so much. My thinking is that I’ve always been a perfectionist and so coloring inside the lines stressed me out too much. Now that I have a better idea of how to stay inside of a printed picture, I enjoy the act of coloring so much more than I did 16 years ago.
I’ve found that there are multiple situations in which coloring can be done without changing your regular activities that much. For example, when I’m stressed out, coloring is a good way to take my mind off of things for a while. When I’m ready to come back to the stressful situation, my brain is a little more relaxed and I’m looking at things with a fresh mind. It’s almost like I took a nap, but it was more fun and now I’m not groggy.
If I’m already procrastinating on things I should be doing by watching Netflix, I can grab my coloring book and multi-task my procrastinating. Plus, it looks a little more productive to say you didn’t write that essay but you colored a whole picture and then hang it on the fridge like a proud college student.
Even if you’re not watching Netflix, coloring can be a good break from homework and responsibilities. Just like people need a break from stress, people need a break from homework (possibly the cause of some stress) and coloring is a good way to clear your mind and go back to reading a boring chapter or studying for a hard test. There’s no point in straining your brain to get something done when it’s not working anymore. A quick break is okay and I think coloring is the perfect way to do it.
Coloring is a nice creative outlet for those of us who don’t really have time for creativity anymore. I can’t really fit dancing into my schedule anymore and definitely can’t write a novel in my spare time, but I can fit coloring a picture before bed or during lunch or as a study break to get my creative juices flowing. Even though I was never much of an artist, I like the task creating symmetry with my color choices: if I used pink for the flower pedals in the right corner, I have to use pink for the flower pedals in the left corner. I use this thought process for all of the pictures I color. Of course, not everybody colors this way and that’s fine (to each her own), but creating symmetry helps bring out my creativity.
Everybody is going to have different ways, reasons, timing and goals for coloring because everybody is different and that’s what makes life great and interesting. All that I’m saying is that if you haven’t started using adult coloring books, you should really consider it. It’s one of the most relaxing and stimulating things I’ve taken up and I used to be the child who colored by drawing a couple of lines and then quitting.
