Adding a creative touch to my life...

After a long day of work, how do you prefer to unwind ? 

Do you read books or listen to music or do you enjoy a peaceful evening by doing nothing ?

Whatever maybe the profession, we all need to destress from time-to-time. The stress that comes with every job today demands all of us to take a break and spend some quiet time. 

I have come across few workaholic people in my life who prefer to only work. No destressing, no relaxation just achieve corporate milestones and look forward to more of such accomplishments. It makes me wonder how work can be the only activity in their life. But I am sure there may be reasons best known to them for such choices in life.

If I was a given a chance to choose an alternate profession, I would love to explore my creative side and nurture it for life. Until a year ago, I used to work as a software professional. No doubt I enjoyed my work. It gave me independence, financial stability and obviously a sense of satisfaction. But I still yearned for something more. 

At times, work used to get so crazy that I would look forward to a destressing weekend. Back then, my options would be either to watch a TV show/movie, go to dance classes and workout vigorously or read a book.

When we were kids, my baby bro and I were enrolled into countless competitions - poetry writing, recitations, general knowledge quizzes, essay writing, dance, music, painting and what not. These helped pave our paths, find our passion and inspired us to excel in it. But somewhere down the line we lost ourselves in huge stacks of books and exams to never write a poem or paint a picture.

For over a year now, I have been fortunate enough to indulge myself in various creative ventures. These activities have kept me busy before and after baby girl's arrival. So much so that I am considering taking a break from the corporate world to discover newer pastures, to move out of my comfort zone and explore the opportunities.

Here are some of the activities that I have taken up after a break with the perspective to add a creative touch to my life -

• Classical dancing - I have written about this before and here it is again. When I look back now, I see how dancing has evolved from a mere hobby to an interest to a die-hard passion. Pursuing this art has been a constant factor in my life so far irrespective of geography or profession. Thanks to my parents' vision of getting me trained in this art form since the age of six years, today dance is more than a passion. Today I want to move ahead in this field and evolve personally from a dancer to a teacher. I want to help spread this art form to the younger generations and acquire a deeper satisfaction.
• Writing / Blogging - This blog has given me a chance to revive my writing skills and it inspires me everyday to keep improving it. Writing poems has helped me express my words better - something I couldn't have expressed better with long essays. Imagining fictional scenarios had helped me understand myself - how would I react if I was in that situation. Reading all your wonderful blogs has inspired me to keep this space alive and not push it to hibernation.
• Knitting - I don't remember if I ever touched my knitting needles after my home science classes at school. Last year, during the pregnancy I made a pair of baby booties, a blanket and few winter/summer caps. All thanks to my long lost knitting knowledge.
• Painting - When we were expecting the baby girl last year, I would always envision decorating our rooms with colorful cartoons and bright shades. As planned, right before the baby shower, I was able to sketch some cartoons to adorn our boring apartment walls. 
• Reading - My reading had taken a downhill last year so I decided to take the Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014. Out of 25 books for this year's challenge, I have completed 7. I know I know, I am behind schedule but I plan to catch up in the coming months.  
• Singing - Time and again, I started learning from my mom but the lessons never proceeded beyond the basic notes. So this time, I am determined to progress further and take a plunge into singing. God bless those who hear me out !

So tell me, what's your take on exploring your creative side ? 

How are you adding a creative touch to your life ? 

Yours' truly,

                 **Linking to the Ultimate Blog Challenge for July 2014 and BlogHer - NaBloPoMo**