Hello, my name is Abbie, and I’m a senior at UA. I’m majoring in Biology and Spanish with a minor in Anthropology. My hobbies tend to lean more towards the arts: playing flute, painting, drawing, and perhaps the least popular amongst our age group, sculpting with Play-Doh.

Commonly thought of as an easy arts and crafts activity for young children, using play-doh has quickly become a valuable hobby as I’ve grown older. Opposite to most, I seem to have grown into this habit instead of abandoning it with age. I find that it has stress-relieving and relaxing properties and provides a creative outlet to relieve any frustrations or anxieties.

This particular hobby had a fairly uneventful beginning. Walking through a Target store one day, I walked by a display of Play-Doh and spontaneously decided to purchase a few tubs, recalling how much I enjoyed it as a kid. That night happened to be in the middle of midterm exams, and it was particularly stressful as I had several exams that week. During a study break, I picked up one of the tubs and just began rolling the dough around, not making any intentional shapes, instead using it as “stress ball” of sorts.

This became a habit of mine while on study breaks to help relieve stress about upcoming exams. Eventually, I began using it while studying, much like the fidget cubes that many individuals use today, using it not only to eliminate anxiety but also to better my focus. It quickly became a more frequent pastime, not only using it as a stress ball, but also beginning to make pictures and shapes (though unrecognizable to others). I began carrying Play-Doh around with me in my back-pack, on short trips, and even on a summer long vacation out of state. I now use it almost daily to rid myself of any of the frustrations induced by the day’s events. It has rather quickly evolved into one of my most relaxing and beneficial hobbies, and my Play-Doh collection has grown significantly since its beginning.

Humans have utilized sculpture as an art form for centuries, though, most did it for different reasons than my own, citing religion and mythology as a common influence and model for their creations. Many also used it as a form of recreation, and this habit seems to have been passed down through generations. Though our prehistoric ancestors likely weren’t using brightly colored salt dough, sculpture as a hobby is not a new concept.

Though not directly responsible for increased survival chance, playing with Play-Doh does provide a group of advantageous traits that could be useful in a survival circumstance. Playing with Play-Doh not only reduces my stress levels, but also has increased my creativity and imagination. Creativity could prove useful as a potential problem-solving trait, which could potentially improve my overall ‘fitness’ as an individual. It can even be used to improve fine motor skills, depending on how detailed one’s creations become.