It is always during this time of year when I seem to get stuck in routines.

Wake up

Get ready for classes

Sit through lecture after lecture and discussion after discussion

Do homework

Find time to eat and exercise

Go to bed

Day in and day out, I’m just trying to fit within this box of acceptable submissions for assignments and acceptable conduct for society. Let’s face it, academic stress has a way of further stiffing creativity. What’s a better way to break out of that routine than with a weekend Rose House painting event?

Personally, I’ve never had much artistic talent. It takes a lot out of me to produce something that can pass remotely as artistic. I’m used to expressing myself through verbal means, but that was all the more reason to step out of my comfort zone and attempt something as bizarre (for me, anyway) as painting.

I can’t produce a replica of Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ like many of my fellow Rose Scholars evidently can, but I was able to paint a pretty decent canvas of a quote that means a lot to a friend of mine. Maybe I don’t have what it takes to make it as an artist, but it was nice to get my hands dirty with paint and markers, while listening to beautiful music that set the perfect ambiance. At least with art, you don’t have to stay within the box of guidelines.