It's time to craft your worries away

Feb. 18 marks the beginning of an eight-week crafting event series hosted by the Student Psychological Counseling Services that focuses on helping students take their minds off their busy schedules and the anxieties that come with college. Unsplash 

Cayla Romo, a sophomore creative producing major, said crafting brings back fond memories from her childhood.

“When I was a kid we would always craft with my aunt and my mom and every gift for everything was always been homemade,” Romo said. “We had these little cement blocks that we poured cement into and made little butterflies. It was just a little garden stone kind of thing and my mom still has it somewhere.”

Nowadays, Romo finds herself running to class, working on extracurriculars, trying to land a dream internship or simply waking up early to finish an assignment.

The Student Psychological Counseling Services at Chapman are trying to relieve some of the strain that students feel in their everyday lives with Crafting for Self-Care, an event in which students can make art and take their minds away from their worries every Friday afternoon. 

Junior creative producing major Zach Lowhurst told The Panther he admires this event because he finds himself too busy to relax on his own.

“I think students want to (relax), but the execution of actually relaxing and being stagnant for a moment in time is few and far between so to actually have an event that serves (and) reinforces the need for students to do that for themselves on their own time is important," Lowhurst said.

Lowhurst said he also appreciates the community that could come from an event like this which could help student’s mental health. 

“Having a time and space to congregate with the purpose of letting all of the craziness in your life down for a second and focusing on something that can be fun, easy and relaxing is important,” Lowhurst said.  

Freshman film and media studies major Nora Konrad said she appreciates that this event allows students to be creative while meeting new people, which is especially important as a first year student.

“I think it's just a good opportunity to meet other students but also have some time to yourself.” Konrad said. “I'm a film student so sometimes creativity is kind of forced, like you have to do it, but this event seems very chill.”

Konrad also said she noticeshow the event could bring her comfort as she takes a moment to craft because it has been hard to adjust to the new college environment.

“It's my first year of college, so stress and adjusting to being far away from home has been hard on me as probably anyone else,” Konrad said. “I was interested in doing something to keep calm. I met with my academic advisor and I was spilling all my thoughts out, and she was like, ‘Nora, you need something to do, you need something to get away from your head and all your thoughts.’”

Lowhurst finds painting to be therapeutic and hopes there are some paint brushes and paints, of any kind, that he can get his hands on at the event. 

“There's something very gentle about (painting),” Lowhurst said. “The relationship between the brush and the stroke on the paper — there's a meditative aspect about patience and focusing all of your attention on something physical. It gets you out of your head and it puts you into that physical task that you're doing. The same way that in meditation, we can focus on breathing and counting your breaths.”

If you want to make some friendship bracelets for an upcoming Taylor Swift concert or paint a vibrant picture for your dorm, make sure to stop by Crafting for Self-Care on Fridays from 1 to 3 p.m. for the next eight weeks. Email Nancy Mai (nama78303@chapman.edu) to RSVP and get the location information.