Lesson #005: Sometimes you just need to de-stress with some chalk and an empty street.

"Art Therapy" coats H St., in the heart of GW's campus.

Lesson  #005: Sometimes you just need to de-stress with some chalk and an empty street.

Good morning, Colonials and future Colonials (I’m looking at you, Class of 2016, Class of 2017, and Class of 2018)!

One of the coolest qualities about GW is that, even with annual traditions, for one reason or another, while you may miss an event the first time around, you can just as easily witness that event. This past Tuesday, the GW Chalk-In proved to be one of those events that I was lucky enough to catch this year that I simply overlooked last year.

Take a look at this video of last year's Chalk-In!

The Chalk-In is an event where the University shuts down the block of H Street in front of Kogan Plaza and Gelman Library shut down for no other reason than to give students the opportunity to write on the street in chalk.

The occasion serves a purpose: provide a stress-free zone for students to escape to in the midst of final exams and the end of the semester. Anyone, students in particular, have the opportunity to write and draw to their heart’s content, often as music plays and as some of the University’s top performance groups set the mood in Kogan Plaza with some light-hearted entertainment. It is certainly a sight to behold, especially in a city, where running to catch the next metro train or speeding off in a cab are more commonly seen than students sitting in the middle of the street with not a care in the world.

Here are the two other pictures I took of Chalk-In 2012:

I happened to take this picture and didn’t even realize until after that the Twitter handle of GW’s most notorious Tweeter, Dean of Students Peter Konwerski, was right there on the sidewalk. He really IS everywhere.

The Chalk-In is University-provided self-expression at its finest, making way for a temporary H Street art-gallery composed of works by the GW community alone.

In the words of Dr. Seuss: “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” Truer words have never been said and the Chalk-In is one of the many annual opportunities to get your mind off of work for long enough to just "be" carefree.

Stay spirited & stress-free,

Matt

mtscott@gwu.edu