Balancing Creativity and Academics: How to Stay Creatively Inspired as a Busy College Student

Rajsi Rana ’26

Staff Writer

There has been a word bouncing around my head lately: balance. How do people do it all? There are so many people around campus I idolize for different reasons, but most of all, I envy those who can think creatively/create on a regular basis. I often feel like my brain is not suited for my major. When I am feeling like that, there are a few things I try to do often to feed my creative side, even when I cannot seem to find time to create. There can always be a few stolen moments over the course of our days, even on the busiest of them. A few things I do often are listening to music that is new to me, journaling, taking pictures and wearing a new combination of clothes I have.

Music is such a comfort. When I get ready for the day, walk around campus and do homework, there is always some music playing to keep me company. I try to listen to new music through some of Spotify’s playlists or listening to an artist that a friend recommended. It is such a delightful feeling to love a new song immediately or hear lyrics for the first time that resonate deeply, all while doing something that is an everyday experience. It is always a pleasure to hear what is going on in another person’s mind, especially through art.

A few years ago, one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to journal every day. It was during quarantine when I was feeling a similar sense of being stuck in a creative rut as I am now. Journaling at the end of every day is relaxing. It is a form of self-expression, whether it is a sentence on how I’m feeling at that moment, an idea I have, or whatever events happened during that day. One of my favorite things to do when I go home over breaks is to break out my old journals and read through them. Reading through my old self’s life and thoughts is always creatively stimulating.

Taking photos and scrolling through my camera roll is always a reminder of moments I will likely be nostalgic for in the future, as well as a reminder of the creativity all around me. Our four years in college are short and it is very likely that many of us will not be around our friends wherever we all end up after graduating. Take photos with your friends, of the campus, of anything that makes you pause for a minute. Take photos of the things you think you might forget. Looking back at old photos makes me draw patterns in my life and my mindset at different points in time. It helps me remember the details of things when the human memory is notoriously unreliable.

Over the past few years, I’ve grown to love clothes much more than I did growing up. I want every clothing item I own to get its use. One of my favorite pastimes is scrolling through Pinterest, especially at night when I’m thinking of what to wear the next day. The process of looking in my closet, then back on Pinterest, then back in my closet is so much fun and I try to give each piece in my closet its own shining moment. If nothing else, I can have a fun outfit on while I head into another mundane day.