By Vanessa Wu

Staff Writer

Being an English teacher for two grade levels, one of which is a honors class, along with being a swim coach, Lillian Chen decided to teach an enrichment class based on mindfulness and de-stressing with coloring. Coloring is said to relieve stress and anxiety, which would make it a perfect activity for high school students.

  “I thought it was a good idea to branch out of my comfort zone and share something that is an important part of my life.” stated Chen. “I know anxiety and stress is something that students deal with and I wanted to see if I could help them.”

  Having dealt with anxiety before, Chen saw this as an opportunity to help students. She learned different healthy ways to cope with her anxiety. As a result, she plans to use breathing exercises to help relax students by having them focus on something other than school, extracurriculars, social media, and personal issues.

  Chen’s enrichment class will also be focused on mandala coloring, a more complex design that requires your full attention.

  “When the mind is focused on a simple task like coloring, it can reduce negative thoughts and distractions.” stated Chen.    

 Coloring was not the only thing that helped Chen de-stress, her other passion includes solving jigsaw puzzles that range from 1000 to 5000 pieces. This activity is one of her favorites because seeing a finished picture is very rewarding.

 Chen stated, “What I hope students will get out of this class is an opportunity to explore a fun activity and realize that stress or anxiety doesn’t have to be dealt with alone.”