The Waltonian

They say “America runs on Dunkin’,” but personally, I believe that the the statement can be simplified to, “America runs on coffee.” As a college student, coffee has propelled me through my busiest days. Midterms and finals weeks are nothing that a cup of coffee cannot handle. As a frequent customer in local Starbucks stores, I am drawn to the experience of ordering a coffee and completing my work in a quiet and aesthetically-pleasing atmosphere. As I write my thesis, I find myself drawing creative inspiration from the atmosphere of a coffee shop. There seems to be an element of creativity found in a cup of coffee itself– through the creation and personalization of a cup of joe.

The creation process is something most baristas can testify to, as everyone makes even the same drinks a little differently. Again, as a frequent flier, I can taste the difference when Jess makes my drink verses when Kiana makes my drink (especially since I am extremely boring and shift between the same three drinks). These differences are not bad, it is just simply a creative difference. In some cases, especially in local coffee shops, the concept of latte art adds an aspect of creativity. These talented baristas are now adding a personal touch of practically drawing on a cup of coffee. In many of the stores that I frequent, there is usually some sort of barista-created coffee available, where a barista creates a new flavor by mixing different ingredients and creating their own unique drink that is not a part of the daily menu. Some people recognize that the baristas are in fact, coffee experts. I have seen some people order “whatever you recommend” and very few have regretted trusting the baristas with their order. As my sister works as a barista, I have found some of my favorite drinks from her recommendations. Often times when I pick up my order from the counter, people ask me what it is because it does not look like anything on the menu.

The idea of personalizing a cup of coffee is similar– no one is bound to ordering strictly from the menu. Even if someone chooses to order from the menu, the way that people prepare their coffee is extremely different. My best friend drinks her coffee near white– a perfect concoction containing far more creamer, milk, and sugar than actual coffee. On the other hand, my husband will only drink his coffee black. The closer the cup of coffee is to straight espresso, the happier he is. My personalization of coffee depends on what I need within the moment, as the day dictates my order. At times, I have ordered straight espresso. I can count the number of times I have drank espresso straight on one hand, but that isn’t to say that it has not happened. My go to order is a violet drink. This drink is a Starbucks special– the Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher with coconut milk. When the Starbucks birthday reward rolls around, I order this in a trenta with light ice and no shame. The refreshers are a form of “green caffeine;” derived from unroasted coffee beans, according to At Home Starbucks.

The entirety of the coffee process is art– from the creation to the personalization of the drink, as there is a wide array of possibilities. Let coffee, like art, be the expression of oneself, and, at times, let it save the busy day.

Studying can be incredibly frustrating. When the material is hard to understand, there’s an exam coming up, or you simply have other things you would rather be doing, convincing yourself to study in the first place can be challenging, much less enjoying it. It is even harder to study when under a deadline , or when you have a lot of other stuff to do. However, I have found ways that make studying a little less unbearable for myself.

Honestly, studying to me feels like a kind of meditation. My mind is almost constantly swirling with “what-ifs,” and while it’s not a perfect escape, homework gives me somewhere to channel that energy other than my own brain. It’s certainly not a creative outlet, but it is something that grounds me. Reading a textbook or writing an essay lets me focus on making one thing make sense. It’s a nice feeling.

I know that studying is typically more stressful than relaxing, overwhelming than grounding, but changing your perspective can make it a much more appealing discipline. In the grand scheme of things, individual assignments rarely carry any life-defining meaning. Instead, they are relatively small opportunities to learn about yourself and the world, and to reflect what you have learned thus far.

This kind of reflective, near-meditative studying is only made possible when one has the proper tools, though. For me, keeping a detailed planner is absolutely essential to my academic success. Mine is far from glamourous, but it works for me. I write in all of my due dates when I can, and every day I create a checklist of what I have to get done. This helps me use my time well, because everything is laid out, so I can prioritize the most important things without forgetting about everything else I have to get done.

I also find that working alongside other people can make doing homework a bit easier for me. Having other people sit with me keeps me accountable to focus on the work at hand instead of getting distracted. Knowing that we are all working simultaneously on similar projects makes me feel more motivated to get the work done and keeps me from feeling like I’m drowning in work. The breaks of conversation and laughter also help.

Finally, it helps for me to keep my work in perspective. While moment it can feel like one assignment defines the rest of your life, I like to look at the bigger picture and remind myself that I have done countless assignments before now, and none of them have been make or break moments in my life – in fact, most of them I have completely forgotten. Keeping that truth in mind reminds me that no matter the outcome of any schoolwork I may do, at the end of the day, I will be okay.

We often forget it but having the opportunity to do homework itself is a blessing. It can be challenging and stressful but learning in an environment in which we can learn from each other and our professors is an incredible privilege that we need to be grateful for. Having the tools to grow and prepare ourselves for our future is a gift, and if we so choose, the work can be an art.

Exercise is essential for a happy and healthy life. A popular quote from an unknown author says, “Find three hobbies you love: one to make you money, one to keep you in shape, and one to be creative.” The idea of exercise coincides with a hobby, and once exercise is viewed within this lens, it becomes an enjoyment that is able to be pursued by various routes: in sports, the outdoors or in the gym.

Personalizing exercise is an art because it takes creativity and passion to pursue a plan. For me, exercise is a creative experience. When exercising, I am investing time into creating a better version of myself and investing time into my hobbies. My personal favorite methods of getting exercise vary by the time of the year.

During the summer, I enjoy surfing. To me, it is a creative experience. I learn more about myself in the water. I depend on myself to create a perfect ride; I have to assess the surf, decide when to paddle out and work towards improving my footwork for a perfect ride. The perfect ride is not something that merely comes, it is an experience that I have to create. When I am surfing, I am not thinking of the exercise I am getting. I am in a different headspace, solely focused on the water and chasing the adrenaline rush of a great ride.

During the fall, hiking is primarily my first choice method of getting exercise. There are so many beautiful places to hike within the area that it is something I have done every weekend. It is a great feeling to wake up early, hit up a Wawa for some snacks, then drive for miles to the perfect hiking spot and hike until it is dark. Hiking corresponds to creativity because I am inspired by the outdoors and nature. Crafting a perfect trail route is a creative choice because unfortunately, sometimes there are not enough hours to do everything when racing the dark. How I choose to tackle the trail is also a creative expression. I really love to climb, so oftentimes, if I see a particular large rock or scramble area, I am inclined to stop and scale that before I continue on the trail.

During the colder months in winter and spring, I usually keep my exercising primarily indoors until it gets warmer. Two of my favorite colder weather activities include indoor climbing and the gym. Indoor climbing is a creative experience because everyone climbs differently, due to differing heights of individuals and such. Recently, my husband and I have pursued belay certification, which is where we belay for the other: I handle the ropes as he climbs and vice-versa. There is definitely an art to belaying, whether it be tying the knots, feeling the rope tugs beneath or learning the belaying rhythm specific to your partner.

The gym is also one of my favorite methods of exercising because I feel there is a lot of freedom in it. I can personalize a workout, the weights are adjusted to me specifically and I have the creative outlet of putting in my earbuds and listening to music and my own thoughts. I can challenge myself physically and mentally by creating goals and working towards them.

If working out or getting exercise feels like a chore, take encouragement in the idea that you have the ability to be creative. Find a hobby that keeps you in shape and enjoy investing yourself in it. Not every method of exercise is enjoyable for everyone, but that is the creative beauty of it all. Take time to experiment; take a hike, learn a new sport, go dance– just find some way to move, be creative and enjoy!

“Creativity is the use of imagination or original ideas,” as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Generating ideas that are inclusive to one’s imagination and originality, however, may prove to be a more difficult task than expected. “The average person has 60,000 thoughts per day and 95% of them are exactly the same, day in and day out,” Huffington Post claims. Whether in school or working, it can be easy to become swept up in the day in and day out, unfortunately foregoing the benefits of stimulating the creative process.

Stimulating the creative process offers many benefits: emotionally, physically and mentally. According to the Huffington Post, creativity can reduce stress and anxiety, and even decrease symptoms of depression.

On the other side of the coin, there has been a lot of talk that mental health– specifically, mental illness– has a link to creativity. According to the Huffington Post, that is not true. In 2011, there was a faulty study conducted on the hypothesis that those who suffer from a mental illness are more creative than those who do not. The research failed on the account of being unable to measure how people were creative or were not creative. Instead, the team, led by Simon Kyaga, collected information pertaining to occupation, assuming that those who worked in more “creative” fields were more creative than those who did not. Unfortunately, measuring creativity is not that simple, as there are many other factors at play regarding occupation than just creativity, and therefore it is a faulty measurement.

Though there is no known link between creativity and mental illness specifically, it has been proven many times that creativity does play a role in influencing mental health for the better. Science enforces the idea that engaging in the creative process improves the individual’s mental health.

Sources: Huff Post, Merriman-Webster

I am a 6. The day I realized this felt a lot like waking up in the morning and splashing my face with cold water. There is something shocking about it, startling, in fact, but I felt very alive and very seen.

The Enneagram is a personality assessment taking schools and businesses by storm. According to the Enneagram Institute, it is composed of nine types which include the Reformer, the Helper, the Achiever, the Individualist, the Investigator, the Loyalist, the Enthusiast, the Challenger, and the Peacemaker.

The numbers, according to the Enneagram Institute, present a dominant personality type. These types may be further broken down into two wings– areas of one’s personality that may blend into another dominant personality. For example, my personality type, 6, has two wings– 9 and 3. Under stress, 6’s are likely to take on the unhealthy qualities of a 3, which is why I had mistyped myself for a while as a 3. Others, however, in their healthy and unhealthy states, may have qualities of two dominant personalities, and they would have a consistent wing.

Knowing my Enneagram type has helped me to learn more about myself and to appreciate my own individuality in the good and the bad.

6’s are referred to as the loyalists, because they tend to be the most loyal of the personality types. They are extremely loyal to their friends and also to their beliefs– ready to defend either on a second’s notice.

6’s, however, tend to be slow to trust others. They are the most sensitive to fear of the personality types and are often anxious and cautious individuals (The Enneagram Institute).

Because of the Enneagram, I have a more honest view of myself. As individuals, it can be hard to notice our own flaws. The Enneagram assists in identifying weaker points in a dominant type, but also strengths. As I am more aware of my tendency to be overly cautious, I challenge myself to extend the benefit of the doubt to situations. I also have begun to learn to use my cautious nature to my own benefit by learning to trust my own decisions and judgements, as I am likely to proceed with caution and make thorough efforts to do the best I can within a situation.

Likewise, the Enneagram is useful for identifying strengths. Being more aware of my tendency to be very loyal, I value what I have to offer to my friendships and to causes that I believe in.

The Enneagram is a great personality test that helps individuals learn about themselves, expounding on their strengths and improving their weaknesses. It is a form of self-expression, which is the very definition of art itself.

Media has always played a massive role in the consumerist aspect of the 21st century society. Between TV, music and the internet, the audiences are overwhelmed with entertainment options. Youtube, however, has taken the cake in recent years.

Starting in 2005, Youtube has grown in popularity and is now the most popular video site, according to Business Insider. No wonder, as the platform has content of seventy-two hours worth of video uploaded every minute. Its plethora of users watch approximately four billion hours of videos per month (Business Insider). Who is producing this content? Some of it is professional, such as music videos or other commercial works, while the majority, more intriguingly, is created by everyday people.

Youtube is unique in its platform because the internet has made it so easy for anyone who wishes to share something with the world to be able to simply upload and do so. From this easy-access platform rises a new generation of celebrities– Youtube influencers. Youtube influencers are those who have attracted much attention with their content, generating a mass following and uploading content regularly.

This new breed of celebrities has greatly impacted particularly the millennial generation in both good and bad ways. These celebrities are unique in the sense that many of them may have been, or close to, “overnight sensations.”

Before Youtube, musicians and movie stars were groomed for the social status. In many cases, their status is something that took a lot of training and many years– or perhaps, a lifetime to achieve. A lot of their industry is based on connections– who they know and who knows them.

Clearly, there are many differences between these rather traditional celebrities and Youtube influencers. What drives the millennial generation to them?

Millennials find Youtube influencers more authentic, according to Forbes. Before these influencers, much of the media industry was composed of celebrities that were well-groomed to be just that– celebrities. Most grew up with the knowledge that a lot of what is seen on TV is not real. Everyone is very used to the fact that everything is heavily edited and scripted in the media industry: heavy filters, airbrushed and a complete lack of authenticity. In stark contrast, Youtube influencers are authentic. They are real, everyday people, who are usually not groomed to be celebrities. Many produce content reflecting the values that they believe in or just a glimpse of what everyday life is as another human being. They are less afraid to talk about “controversial” topics that people are seeking answers to. Mental health, particularly, is something many influencers speak out about but seems hushed by the general media. They are more likely to be themselves, which is what draws viewers to watch. No one person is “normal,” and there is power and uniqueness in the general differences of “weirdness,” from one human to another. Amid the plastic, Youtube influencers provide millenials with a breath of fresh air.

Youtube influencers are more engaging, according to Forbes. Typically, to meet a celebrity, expensive tickets must be bought, arrangements must be made, and long lines must be waited in. With Youtube influencers, however, from the comfort of one’s own home and a single click, there is a comment thread. Youtube influencers generally make a point to keep in touch with their fans, engaging in comment threads and through the scheduling of Q&As. There is more of an authentic, relational idea behind these influencers (Forbes). People crave an authenticity that media was once not fulfilling, but Youtube influencers have answered the call.

Sources: Huff Post, Merriman-Webster