Even though we are only a few weeks into the semester, our planners seem to be filling up quickly with tasks to finish between now and May.

As our schedules become busier, we get buried underneath homework, papers, tests and other time commitments.

We often forget to come up for air after the flood of academia. It is always good to focus on school, but it is OK to take time for yourself to blow off some steam.

For me, there is nothing more relaxing then opening up my sketchbook and putting ink to the canvas pages.

After I became a college journalist I kind of lost touch with old hobbies like creative writing and drawing.

When I was in high school I used to write poetry and draw in my sketchbook every day and now I do not know how to identify with the person who wrote those words.

Learning how to write a news story has changed my style of writing and sometimes it can be hard to stray away from the inverted pyramid and news elements that have been ingrained in me since freshman year.

Even though learning these things at Eastern have greatly prepared me for the future, I would like to get back to my creative roots.

There is something about taking my Micron pens and creating an image of my imagination that sucks me out of reality.

The process of creating a character or simple shapes is soothing and for some reason makes me forget about the things that make me anxious.

When I made my schedule for the second semester of freshman year I was ecstatic that I would be able to take an art class as one of my general requirements for graduation.

Being able to sketch for an entire class period with my headphones was like heaven on Earth.

Even if it was only for an hour, I felt like I had checked out of the stressful environments that existed outside of that classroom.

If your hobby is simply hanging out with friends, it is still important to keep a good balance between academics and the things that make you happy (but do not stress you out as much).

My nostalgic longing for journal entries and new sketches has made me realize that I should take the time to trade my planner for a sketchpad; so long as I have marked each task as finished.

Abbey Whittington is a junior journalism major and can be reached at 581-2812 or anwhittington@eiu.edu.