To me, play is enjoyable activity and is of much benefits to both children and adults. Obviously, play is an essential part of every child's life and is vital for the enjoyment of childhood as well as for social, emotional, intellectual and physical development. For adults, play is one of the ways to keep work and life balanced. When playing, we leave stress, worries and pressures behind and just enjoy the moment. In this busy life, play seems to be no longer an important thing and people seems quite busy to play. How can we make time to play if we have a full time job or we are full time students? For me, play does not need to be expensive or take a lot of time. Joking with my friends, singing a song while I am cleaning the house, doing puzzles with my children, enjoying a “movie night” at home with family on a Friday, doing yoga, or taking a walk are activities that can be considered to be enjoyable. Spending time to play with family and friends on the weekend is my most favorite thing to do. Gathering together, we have a chance to meet each other, sing together, share our interesting stories or experiences and enjoy delicious foods. By playing, we can improve our relationships and connection with others. We all feel relaxed and more productive and happier to prepare for the new coming week.
When I was young and single, I would listen to music or sing every time I drive, do laundry, cook, or clean my house. I did not feel tired or bored when I was doing this and it seemed I finished my work quicker. I was an active and happy girl at that time. But after having my first child, second child, and then my third child, responsibilities and pressures of earning a living made me forget how to play and enjoy my life. I lost my control, easily got angry and always underwent stress. Luckily, I did not let it go on forever. Gradually, I have changed the way I live. I had found more time for myself to play, to hang out with family and friends. When playing, I can release myself from stress, my mind and body can be refreshed and I work more effectively after playing. Not only do I have benefit from playing, my family and friends do as well. When I am happy and enjoy life, these positive attitudes also spread to the people around me. People today strive to always be productive and make as much money as they can. Play is no longer essential parts of life and people seem to forget to play. “Why I have to play if I still have so many important things to do? If I give in to the joy of play, I can’t get anything done.” Some people might say that. This is not a case. Play does not require lots of time or money. On the contrary, we can get more than what we thought by just spending a little amount of time or money for playing. Go fishing, jogging, playing sports, and hanging out with our loved ones, do not take much time or aren’t very expensive. Play helps us keep work and life balance because by playing, we increase our energy and alleviate stress. Play helps us refresh our mind, trigger creativity and innovation, see problems in new ways and have effective solutions to solve problems.
In conclusion, by playing, teamwork can be encouraged, communication and social relationship can be improved. Spending just a little amount of time to play actually makes us more productive and happier in everything we do. Play should be incorporated into work as it has many beneficial effects in our lives.