A twist on being creative

I remember when my boyfriend sent me a picture of his doodles in the middle of his chemistry class. My first reaction was, “Why on earth are you doodling? You are in the middle of class. Go learn something!”

I thought that he was distracted because the lecture was boring, but then I realized I often find myself drawing those small hearts and cartoon flowers in the corner of my paper, too.

Doodling at glance seems like a waste of time, and paper. It is seen as unproductive and shows a lack of focus for this generation. I mean why would you draw ugly stick figures across your chemistry notes when the teacher is explaining a problem?

But maybe it’s not as bad as it seems. Doodling is art. It shares our imagination with the world and shows that humans are multidimensional creatures. It reveals that we are storytellers. Haven’t we all made cute little stories in our heads about a princess and prince that went along with our impromptu drawings? And doodling is not just for little kids. I don’t think it is something you can ever fully grow out of. Even our grandmas probably doodle when reminiscing about their childhood!

Doodling expresses creativity and it lets us know that we are more than the stigma of “You are a science nerd,” or “You’re an art geek.” It blends our creative side with our gift of learning and comprehending with a little relaxation thrown in. Without it we would not be human; we are given opposable thumbs for a reason. So draw something, take a mental break and be happy with your unique piece of art.

Krystel Edwards is a freshman majoring in creative writing.