I'm a crafter. I've grown up with my mom making things for my whole life, and I so I caught the creative bug too. I grew up first learning to crochet, a skill that I don't make much use of now, but in a pinch, I think I could whip it out. Then I learned about scrapbooking, I learned how to knit, I learned how to sew. I also love a good DIY, I enjoy painting (even though I'm not very good at it) -- basically, I just like to create. Hobby Lobby, Michaels and Jo-Anns are almost second homes for me. They are the same everywhere you go, so when I needed something to do, I ran down to a craft store, I got a ball of yarn and some needles and I went to town. I craft because It makes me feel at home, wherever I am. So far this year, I've knitted three pairs of socks, a beaded bracelet and I'm currently working on a hat. In all honesty, I sometimes use my projects to avoid doing schoolwork, but I also use it in a meditative sort of way.

The projects I'm working on now are useful, they give me a sense of accomplishment, they allow me to follow rules, or a pattern, as well as be creative. I think that's why I'm drawn to music as well. It's an art form, with very strict rules, but it is also very free and creative. Knitting, in the same way playing guitar or piano is for some, in a physical action. It's muscle memory, it's something for my hands to do so my mind can be elsewhere. I knit when I'm stressed, I knit when I'm not stressed. I knit when I want to fidget, or when I need to think about something deeply, but also not too deep that I spiral. I get some of my best ideas when I'm sitting, quietly, feeling the smooth metal of my needles, the soft click-clack as I touch them together, the feel of the yarn passing through my fingers and the sense of accomplishment when you can pull a fully finished sock on and walk out the door. It's a transformative process, you take one thing and turn it into something completely different. It feels good when someone says they like your hat and you can say "I made this." It's also really cool that you give a gift that was made by you for someone. It's also good to make yourself something, to invest time into yourself. There are a bunch of different ways to invest in yourself and for me, that's knitting right now. Next week it could be cross stitch, or I might give it up because my classes are getting more intense, the good news is that my crafts will be waiting for me when I'm ready to return to them.

I struggled a lot with the fact that home is so far away from where I'm going to school, in fact, I don't really have a place to call home right now, but one thing that makes me feel at home is crafting. When I was bored, my mom would just let me run wild with the stuff we had at the house, she let me create freely. I could start a project, finish something in the works already, help her with her project, go to the store and get a craft out of the children's section. So crafting freely is like home to me. I craft in college because it helps me to create a new home for myself, where I'm comfortable, and especially cozy.