not just 'cause it's my job and I'm fascinated with self-improvement, but 'cause...

Fix me! Please, any of you, fix me!

*cries* I'm broken... *sobs*

And one that I read, that was incredibly thought-provoking

was Brené Brown's "The Power of Vulnerability".

Though the book has a lot of amazing insights, the one I want to talk about today is about play.

So Brené's research stresses the importance of creative play to lead a life of joy.

And what I actually found most surprising, is that she states that unharnessed creativity doesn't actually go anywhere.

Instead, if you're not utilizing your creative self,

it manifests itself as stress, judgment, anxiety and so much more awful stuff.

And I thought this explains so much to me, because you know people who are like...

Oh. Wow. No, I don't do any of that losery stuff.

I mean, painting is just pointless, and dancing makes you look dumb, and pottery is just for idiots.

I mean, I'm a super serious lawyer and I do incredibly serious lawyer stuff.

I feel like we all know someone who just totally looks down on any kind of hobby or creative endeavor.

And they're all just kind of bitter, right? And I was like....

Oh, this is why, because they're not being creative.

So all this repressed energy is just making them very unpleasant.

And I know what you're thinking...

Anna, you're just saying that because it's your job to be creative.

I mean, some of us don't have that luxury.

Some of us have- have families, careers in non-creative fields,

and like hundreds of cats to take care of.

First of all, you can play with your cats.

And second, if you have a career in a creative field,

I don't think that necessarily means you're using your creative energy.

Let me explain.

So Brené Brown describes two factors that determine play.

They are: one, you never want it to end,

and two, it has no discernible purpose.

And when I heard this, I was like, wow,

I don't know what in my life actually meets these two categories.

Even though I get to be creative all the time, it doesn't necessarily feel like play?

I mean it kind of feels like work.

And sometimes I resent creativity, because

there's so much pressure to be imaginative in order to be relevant or successful, which is not fun.

It just feels like you're going insane.

Okay! So are we gonna do this sketch about dicks this week?

Well, we've never approached it from a satirical angle.

Exactly! How I feel about dick pics is more of a confessional vlog style.

"here's what i'll do to your dick", is a public service announcement

that satirizes violence against fruits and vegetables, in an effort to demonstrate how ludicrous it is

to send a photo of your genitalia to someone you don't know as a courting favor.

I just don't think that dicks are on trend anymore. And if we want to...

*talking over each other*

Can we settle on like one idea? Just one idea, cats or dicks. That's all we have, cats or dicks.

And I've started to make Brunei's stressed importance on play a huge factor in my life.

Because I've definitely felt myself over time, become judgmental or bitter or anxious,

if I'm not doing anything that brings me joy.

I mean that just makes a lot of sense, right?

And who wants to hang out with someone who's all those things?

So recently, I've written down what is play for me?

What do I love and I never want to end that has no discernible purpose other than it's fun?

So I've been trying to dive more into like animation with poems like, "The Moment I Threw Your Toothbrush Away" and "p a l i n d r o m e".

And I'm also doing a stop-motion project called allure that I'm incredibly excited about.

And now you guys may think...

Erm, hey! Those sound like they have a discernible purpose. As in, they're going on your channel.

Yes, you're technically right.

I will definitely put them up, but they don't have a real purpose,

because they're kind of just one offs that I'm sinking money into

that I can't necessarily make it to a bigger property.

So they're purely passion projects and I've started to rediscover how much I really love animation.

When I was a teenager,

I actually wanted to be an animator at like Pixar or Disney.

And I would pull all of these unintentional all-nighters,

because I loved drawing so much.

And though I'm not animating these personally,

the process of making something from absolutely nothing come to life is still so wild and awesome to me.

And beyond that, of course, I've tried to think of activities that fall into these categories.

Like Nerf gun fights, hiking, camping, crafting,

and trying to be much more engaged in those activities.

To give myself more joy.

But what about you? What activities are play for you?

And are you doing them enough or are you doing them at all?

I'm Anna Akana, stay right here for an animated ad from Miss Bethany Radloff.

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