Some AACC students manage the stress of school by finding creative outlets through artistic hobbies.

Still, some students who tap their creative sides outside of school said they don’t have enough time to devote to both.

“Depending on what classes you’re taking, there’s not really the opportunity to have a healthy balance between school and hobbies and still keep your grades up,” first-year psychology student Ella Westerfeld said. “It kind of [becomes] one or the other.”

Westerfeld and some AACC friends created an alternative music band that took up a large amount of their time during the fall semester.

Brooklyn Page, a first-year art history student, spends her spare time writing science fiction stories, which she said gives her a healthy balance between school and hobbies.

“Having a hobby like writing—that takes up time,” Page said. “I feel like that can benefit your schoolwork because … it would prevent burnout.”

Psychology professor Rachelle Tannenbaum said hobbies can relieve stress and lead to better mental health.

“But also, it’s a way to just kind of implicitly remind yourself that you are not just a student, or an employee, or whatever, and that you have these other facets,” Tannenbaum said.