With no place to go and time on their hands, teens across the country are taking on projects to express themselves. Social media is filled with these creations.
As I scroll through TikTok and Instagram, I see more and more of my classmates cutting and dying their hair, baking, painting, creating songs, what have you.
It seems as though, when you leave teenagers with too much time on their hands, their creative sides start to come out.
Many people have been attempting to cook and bake with their new time off. When one isn’t eating in the cafeteria at school, they can try things like making the viral whipped coffee from Japan.
What about the box of cake mix that has been sitting in the cabinet? This is a great time to try decorating a cake, especially for the people who have the unfortunate situation of celebrating their birthday during self-quarantine.
Painting has also become wildly popular amongst teens. People painting their old vinyl records, shoes and even instrument cases have popped up all over my social media feed during the pandemic.
Another great way that people have been expressing themselves has been with make-up and fashion. Many people are creating interesting make-up looks inspired by movies and books.
Many are also up-cycling their clothes by cutting, sewing, bleaching and dying them into unique pieces. Along with clothes, some teens are taking to making their own accessories like earrings and bracelets out of things like miniature figurines, string and buttons.
A common trend has been to cut and dye your own hair. With hairdressers closed, people have taken it upon themselves to cutting their own bangs and even shaving their own heads.
As someone who is guilty of playing hairdresser, I get how compelling someone may be to do so. Kids don’t have to go to school as of late so, if it turns out bad, this is the perfect time to try out things that they’ve always wanted to.
I began by bleaching the front of my hair, a style that has become wildly popular on TikTok, especially in the e-girl community.
I loved it, but I wasn’t done there. I then dyed my whole head purple because… well, what’s stopping me?
The typical socialization of seeing my classmates everyday has since been replaced by talking to my dog and FaceTiming my friends; who would I be trying to impress?
Overall, I’m all for this creative wave across the country. People are taking an awful situation and creating beautiful, positive things with their time.