It was a Wednesday night like any other, the second week of my first year of college. Since classes had just started, the freshman girls on my floor were hanging out in the lounge, not really doing homework. We talked about our lives, our homes, and our families, just getting to know each other. A few minutes into the evening we decided we needed something else to do, so Hannah Sievers, a girl who lived a few doors down from me, brought art supplies from her room. We decided to watercolor, since that was simple and easy to clean, and thus another tradition, Watercolor Wednesday, was born.

Watercolor Wednesday, at its core, isn’t really about watercoloring. At first, it was just a time to be crafty and meet friends from the dorm, just a three or four person powwow. But since then it has blossomed into an assembly of ten or more. For some, it’s a chance to practice their watercoloring skills, but most come for other reasons. A few come for the snacks, some come for the conversation, others to get some homework done in a friendly setting. Sometimes there’s no art created at all, just snacks and a movie with friends. Really, the ‘Watercolor’ bit is a misnomer. What started out as an awkward encounter has bloomed into a vital part of the week.

For the majority of people who attend Watercolor Wednesday, the most important part is not the food or the entertainment or the art. It’s the people.

There are such a variety of people who come to Watercolor Wednesday. From across the country and the globe, extroverts and introverts, people majoring in everything from biology to international development to equestrianism, all together with a single purpose in mind. Not to create watercolor art of unfathomable beauty, but to be deliberate in building relationships. Watercolor Wednesday is a specific, scheduled, blocked out chunk of time wholly dedicated to growing together as human beings. The purpose of this event is to intentionally spend time with others for the purpose of knowing them deeper, to build trust and faith in each other. Yes, some people do bring homework to do. The life of a college student has its trials and we have to learn to multitask. But this ritual has a calming effect. Coming together with friends to make terrible or fantastic watercolor pictures serves to create an environment where the stresses of the outside world can’t quite reach. Watercolor Wednesday has its own special, anxiety free bubble, a quality that can be a nice perk on some days and lifesaving on others. It is most loved because it is a guarantee, a legitimate, ever present, weekly excuse to be deliberate in building relationships with others in a stress free environment. It is never cancelled, it is open to everyone, and no level of art skill is required. Watercolor Wednesday provides shelter, a respite from the storms of life, and for this many are eternally grateful.