Here are some facts: I’m twenty seven years old. I play video games, I watch cartoons, and I love Harry Potter just as much now as when I first read Sorcerer’s Stone in the fourth grade. And I will color whatever I very well please.

A recent trend in art and activity books is the rise of so called 'adult’ coloring books. According to studies, coloring is a great outlet for relieving stress, acting almost like meditation. Now, whether these books are adult because the pictures are more complex and abstract, and lack recognizable characters and scenes, is unclear. But here is the question: why did this get so popular in light of these studies and these new coloring books? Were people waiting for permission to be able to enjoy them?

This phenomenon is not new, either. When I was a teenager I was constantly told I would have to grow up eventually. It was implied that this meant giving up or repressing my interests, which tended toward art, writing, and reading fantasy and young adult fiction. I have no doubt my parents were told similar things. For some reason, growing up and maturing means giving up everything that you love to do in exchange for a host of sometimes soul crushing responsibilities.

This notion makes absolutely no sense to me. Being an adult means being able to make your own decisions, and hopefully being financially independent enough to support them. If I want to write fan fiction about a video game with Disney characters in it, I will. I'll be so excited to go to the store and get a nice new set of sharpened colored pencils, and I'll get that stuffed penguin from the aquarium gift shop if I want.

A personal example in action: my mother scoffed at me when I came home from my university's study abroad program, at the age of twenty one, with a coloring book of paintings by Italian artists. Last year she got a set of her own adult coloring books and a box of (really nice) colored pencils and doesn't see anything wrong with this.

And there isn't anything wrong with either of those situations, but only an endorsement from the scientific community made it ok. Things like this constantly have me thinking: since when does fun have an age restriction? Why does the societal idea of ‘maturity’ overrule one’s ability to enjoy things?

Short answer - it shouldn't. Color if you want, and not just because it suddenly has health benefits. Play the games you used to play as a kid. Have a good time, and don't worry about whether it's acceptable or not.