I Don't Want My Parents To Read This.com

It’s 2025. As a society, we have moved so far away from the conformative, white picket fence mindset that we all once shared. We’ve gone from a culture that celebrates unity, to one that celebrates uniqueness and praises expression. As a result of that, society now offers us so many different opportunities for creative expression. With film-making, and photography, and dance, and music, and fashion, and so much more, there are now so many amazing ways for people to create. But even with so many opportunities, people still aren’t creating enough art. 

Today is Halloween at my school. Hence, I am typing this in a dragon costume. However, I am one of three people in a costume (we’re a school of over 1,000 students). Halloween is meant to be the one day where expression in the form of dress up is completely and totally acceptable, yet people still aren’t dressed up. And I think the reason that today my school remains void of any ghosts and ghouls is the same reason why so many people shy away from opportunities to create: the fear of judgment. But who decided that whatever we create has to be good? Why can’t we just be bad at art? 

I come from a family of artists. My father is an excellent drawer, a talent around which he has built his career. My mother is a painter, my aunt is a writer, my uncle – an excellent musician, and my grandparents are also musicians, illustrators and designers. Even my younger brothers seem to be gifted in the area of visual arts, which they like to showcase through their expertly crafted illustrations of dragons, cars and characters. Clearly, artistic talent is no stranger to the intricacy of my family’s gene pool.

It is, however, a stranger to me. Unlike my family members, I struggle to paint, draw, or even cut out and glue any piece of art that would, by society’s standards, be considered even close to good. My circles look more like triangles, when mixing colors I can only make brown, and the idea of “depth” is a foreign concept. The irony of this is that I love art. Painting is fun, crafting is stimulating, and drawing is always a blissfully peaceful activity. 

How many people have you met in your life who have said, “I can’t draw to save my life,” or “I’m a terrible artist”? Unless all of your friends are Picasso, the answer is probably a lot – and in my opinion, way too many. The bottom line is that art is good for you! Whether it’s drawing, painting, sculpting, graphic design, crafting, cake decorating, or poetry, recent science has shown that not only is creating fun, it also comes with a long list of mental benefits.

Firstly, it promotes creativity and enhances problem-solving skills. If you ever get a chance, I suggest reading “Feeling Artsy? Here’s How Making Art Helps Your Brain”, an NPR article by Malaka Gharib. In the article, she talks about the mental benefits of art and references her extensive research through mostly interviews with professors, professionals, and researchers of neurology and psychology. Gharib writes often about Drexel University professor and researcher Gurija Kaimal, whose work is something I will also refer to often in my writing. When talking about the benefits of creating, Kaimal explains that when we force our brains to make connections between unrelated things and imagine new ways to communicate, we’re flexing our mental muscles and engaging in creative, thought-provoking thinking. Additionally, when creating, we are making a series of decisions. What utensils or mediums to use, what colors to incorporate, and how we can carefully and precisely translate our thoughts into something physical. Kimal explains how there is also the aspect of interpretation. We all see things differently; how can we as individuals uniquely create something that represents our perception of something. All laid out, it can feel overwhelming, but actually, this mental gymnastics is incredibly healthy for your brain. 

Also, it feels good. 

Multiple studies on the correlation between art and the brain have shown that art reduces stress, anxiety, and depression. Along with Kaimal, two studies analyzed in PubMed Central’s article, “Being Creative Makes You Happier: The Positive Effect of Creativity on Subjective Well-Being”, explains further. When you partake in an artistic activity, it creates a sense of mood-boosting accomplishment and releases dopamine into your brain. In simple terms, dopamine is a feel-good chemical; in simpler terms, drawing makes you feel good. In addition to releasing dopamine, creating art also increases serotonin levels, increases blood flow to the parts of the brain associated with pleasure (or the “feel good parts” of our brains), fosters new ways of thinking, and even helps us imagine a more hopeful future. 

Furthermore, art can be freeing. 

Art is a form of emotional expression and mindfulness. It is a way for people to create emotional resilience, communicate with others, and put deeper meaning behind their thoughts. As a result, engaging in the creation of something artistic promotes our self-expression. Using non-verbal forms of expression can force our minds into communicating visually and exploring new forms of expression and inner thoughts. This is expounded upon in an article by Healthline entitled “How to Use Drawing as a Coping Tool for Anxiety.” By providing a safe place to release stress, engage in emotional expression, the processing of trauma, and the exploration of both ourselves and the world around us, art helps us to create a sense of stillness from within. Moreover, it anchors us in the present moment and utilizes sensory engagement to help quiet the mind and reduce stress. In 2023, the Mayo Clinic published an article explaining how art is utilized in therapy and how therapists often refer to the practice as moving meditation. Whether this is done through prescribed art therapy or by personal choice, “creating visual art like drawings or paintings can provide enjoyment and distraction from things like pain and anxiety.”

Art is also good for our relationships. By creating feelings of accomplishment, belonging, validation, and personal connections between people, art can make us feel included and cared for by both ourselves and our communities.    

But, despite all of these benefits, there are so many of you who still shy away from art. Maybe you don’t think you’re good enough. Maybe you think that others might hate what you create. Maybe you might think that you will hate what you create. And yet this mindset doesn’t hold true with other activities that you may do. Perhaps you like to go running, or sometimes go to the gym. Are you the number one runner in the world? Can you lift more than anyone on earth? No? Then, why do you do it? Because it’s good for you! It creates a sense of accomplishment. And while you may not be the best at it, you never give up; you just try again. Whether you’re running a 6-minute mile or a 13-minute one, you’re still getting the same benefits from the exercise. Yes, you may not be the fastest or “best” runner, but you’re still improving your heart function and lowering your blood pressure. Yes, you may not be the more skilled artist, but engaging in art will still reduce stress hormones and produce dopamine. Yes, you may not be a competitive or professional runner, but you still run, and so you’re still a runner. So, yes, you may not be the best artist, but you can still create, and so you can still be an artist.    

But hold on a minute. If we all have the ability to be artists, and art is so good for us, then why aren’t more of us artists? 

With the rise of social media, I’ve noticed two major factors. 1) It has become increasingly easy for us to simply click a button and view the work of artists far better than most of us. And 2) we feel the need to post and share everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. (I’m getting notifications from Instagram as I type this.) These phenomena I find to have contributed to more judgment surrounding art. But art is vulnerable and messy and looks different for everyone. It’s so easy to feel discouraged by not only the judgment of others, but also by the talent of others. Seeing someone’s Monet-like painting on their story can make you feel insignificant and like your creation isn’t good. And maybe it isn’t as good, but that doesn’t mean that you didn’t have a nice time making it, or that it didn’t improve your cognitive function and reduce stress. It’s just like going for a run. Furthermore, art can be personal. Yes, there may be pressure to share every aspect of your life, but maybe your art is something that you can keep private. Do you post every run? Every mile time? Every weight you’ve lifted at the gym? So conditioned are we to believe that some people make “good” art and others make “bad” art. And while yes, some people’s art may be more appealing to us than others, art is equally healthy for us all, and it isn’t something we have to share. Whether you’ve replicated the Mona Lisa or created a crummy, disproportionately drawn cartoon strip, the act of engaging in something artistic is still relieving stress, enhancing your ability to focus and problem solve, and helping you to become a more emotionally balanced and overall healthier person. Yes, judgment from the people around us is scary, and societal pressures are present and very real, but expression, whether private or not, is important.  

The bottom line is that creating is good for you, and society offers so many opportunities for us to do it. I truly believe the kindest thing you can do for yourself is to provide yourself with a space where you can feel free to create, find unique ways to communicate your thoughts and emotions, and find your inner sense of self-expression and mindfulness free of the judgment of others. Find yourself a brush or a pencil or a crayon and draw that stick figure. Color outside the lines. Make something ugly and terrible and beautiful. Come to school in a dragon costume. I’m not saying that we need to treat everyone like a Van Gogh; I am just saying that it’s 2025, and it’s time to normalize bad art.