doodling for the brain
I've been doodling a lot recently. it's been pretty fun. it's a bit of a throwback to being in grade school and drawing dozens of little stars in the margins of my assignments as my teachers talked about... whatever.
some class I took had said that doodling in class or as you're listening to something can actually help increase learning and retention, though I can't remember which class it was. and that rings true to me, the same way I can be totally in the zone as I'm listening to a spotify playlist I can be totally locked in drawing eyes and stars and flower petals all over my papers.
but yeah. it's been cool to see what I can do. I dropped drawing and art in sixth grade after being very artistic throughout my early childhood. just felt like I wasn't good enough at it for it to be worth the time (and my friends were seemingly much better at it than I was).
I picked it back up sporadically in HS, notably when I had to retake bio in the summer, and would manage to do these honestly stunning drawings of animals, to which my teacher had suggested I look into going into illustration. but I dropped it again and only got back to it once I started this job. 
my kids often say "Miss Kristin is an artist." which I correct, saying "If I was an artist, I would not be working here." they often echo the same feelings I had when I first gave up on art. seeing my or another student's work and saying "Yours is so good! Mine is ugly. Can I throw it away and take yours?" I do my best to consistently redirect their disparaging language and attitudes and remind them that nobody is born talented at something, everyone was once "bad" at whatever they're "good" at now. since I say it so much, it's finally sticking to a good portion of them. some of them... it's just gonna be tough to build up their self-esteem.
(have I ever posted about how low kids' self-esteem is now? it is SO LOW. it shocked me constantly when I first started this job. I thought kids had a level of delusion and hopeful innocence about their self-efficacy, they all just hate themselves. it's horrible.).
but yeah. I've mostly just been doodling side profiles and the backs of people's heads, or posters on the wall and objects in the room. yesterday I doodled a couple of my kids coloring while they watched Spy Kids at the table before me. backs of the head are pretty easy to draw and it's a good way of studying the motion of hair when it's styled or tied up in some way.
haven't drawn any faces, really. the farthest I'll get is hair, nose, and eyebrows... faces have a lot of soul in them that can be a bit daunting to convey. but I'm not pushing myself to do portraits anyway.
no message to this post, but I would encourage you all to engage in some sort of creative hobby, especially if it's one you've put down in the past. you will impress yourself.