At times my life is stressful. Ok, that's a lie...MOST of the time my life is stressful. Physical, mental, emotional, financial stress....I've got them all. Now, I don't believe, in any way, that I'm the only one with stress in life (that's absurd!). I do believe I may be one of the few athletes that utilizes creativity as an outlet for stress (instead of running, lifting, yoga, hitting something, lifting something, etc.). My stress reliever (I've recently come to find out) is painting. I honestly had never picked up a paintbrush (besides in middle school) until 2013 at a team meeting activity for my work. I told a friend of mine that I somewhat enjoyed it, and he persuaded me to give it a try. So, we went to Hobby Lobby and Michael's, bought a few supplies, and I tried it. I was horrible at it (I still have no idea what I'm doing) but found a sense of peace while developing my creation. I didn't know what the end product would look like, I couldn't screw it up (I've come to find out), it brought out my creative juices, and I was able to just focus on the brush strokes, the colors, and my project. I could finally be at peace. If you don't know me well, here's something you should know: I over-think and over-analyze everything, plus I have some perfectionist tendencies. My brain never shuts off, ever. Only when I paint am I allowed just to be...it's quite an amazing feeling. If you're an overly stressed, overly anxious individual that hasn't found your "peaceful" place yet, I do recommend painting. You don't have to be creative, you don't have to have experience, you can't screw it up. Just let the brush stroke and the colors flow! :) (Am I sounding hippy-ish?!?!) :) In all honesty, if you haven't found that place or activity that gives you peace, keep searching; try new things. You may find it where you least expect it. You deserve to unwind, de-stress, and find peace throughout this crazy, wonderful, chaotic life!