From a young age, I had always been interested in origami. I thought it was amazing how someone could take a simple piece of paper and turn it into something so complex. Whether one used patterned paper or just a regular sheet of notebook paper, the outcome was gratifying.
It seemed easy enough whenever I watched other people make flowers and cranes, so I decided to give it shot. I was in fifth grade when first I tried it out, and I quickly realized how difficult it actually was. At least I found it impossible at the time. I somehow always managed to crumple the paper forming unattractive wrinkles and unsymmetric figures. My impatient self quickly gave up moved on to the next interesting thing that captured my attention.
Although I gave up, my interest in paper folding hadn’t completely faded away. However, I never bothered to actually try again because I didn’t want to deal with the irritation that came with crumpled papers and unjust papercuts. This changed last week at a meeting. My group had finished our assignment early but were not permitted to leave. I was bored out of mind, so with hours to kill, I decided to give the art of paper folding another chance. I sat there for about a solid two hours with a bunch of scrap paper from the recycling bin and various tutorials pulled up on my phone on how to make a lucky paper star.
First, I had to take a thin strip of paper and simply fold it over and over again to make a layered pentagon. Creating the basic pentagonal shape wasn’t too difficult, but the very last part made me want to pull my hair out. To transition from a pentagon to a star, I had to make the paper puff out. This is done by pinching the sides of the pentagon. It took me the majority of the two hours to figure this part out and tweak it until it was satisfactory enough. It only irked me further when I read in the tutorials that this was supposed to be the easiest step. But at last, I had made my lucky paper star and given myself an unimaginable number of paper cuts.
After successfully creating a dozen, I learned how I could adjust my paper to change the outcome star. If I used a thicker strip of paper, then the pentagon would be bigger; this resulted in a much larger star. Had I used a thinner strip, a tiny star would be produced. I also picked up on the concept that the more layers of paper I used to make the pentagon, the harder it was to pinch but the stronger it made the star. Although not all of my stars turn out perfect, I learned that practice is key to creating symmetric stars. With this newly achieved skill, I would eventually like to fill a jar with a variety of lucky paper stars.
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any comments or possible origami suggestions in the comments:)
Priya's Blog 
Hi Priya,
I found your blog post quite interesting. I too have had an uncertain love for origami from a young age and completely understand the frustrations you expressed. It would always annoy me when the instructions’ final step would be described by a complex diagram and, what seemed like, twenty meaningless arrows. Nevertheless, origami has been a calming stress reliever for me. After reading your post, I tried my hand at making these lucky paper stars and, as you might have guessed, was not so successful. Beyond your initial learning experience, it appears that these stars have been a fun and relaxing activity for you as origami has for me. I hope to possibly learn how to make these stars someday and wish you good luck on filling your jar.
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Hey Cameron, I’m glad you liked my post! It’s nice to hear that someone else besides me enjoys origami. It was much easier for me to make stars once I got used to it so don’t give up! You got this:)
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HI Priya!
I had no idea that you liked origami. As a kid, I had an origami kit and it came with a bunch of pieces of paper, and instructions on how to turn them into different little things. I remember sitting with my friend for hours on end, trying to figure out how to make something look half decent while following those directions. I always found the last few folds to be the hardest step, as the paper would often get very thick and difficult to maneuver. I’m so glad you had success! Maybe I’ll have to look something up and give it another shot. Have you tried to make anything besides stars recently? Have you had any luck?
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Hi Alexis! My brother used to make paper cranes a lot, so I’ve been trying to make those as well. For me, those are a lot harder to make. I highly recommend giving origami another shot; it can be very fun! Thanks for reading:)
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Hey Priya,
I didn’t have any idea that you liked origami. Although I wouldn’t say I truly enjoyed making origami, I loved reading the Origami Yoda books as a kid. I always had trouble making the yoda for some reason. Once the paper got really thick, it became hard to fold. But Oragami Yoda was just to have some fun so I didn’t really stress about it. I haven’t done origami in a long time. I should probably go back and learn it again, as I’ve forgotten everything. I hope you fill your jar of special stars. You’ll have to teach me how to make a star one day.
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Hi Siddharth! My brother used to also make Origami Yodas as a kid. He was the one who really got me into origami. Paper stars are much easier to make, so I think you should give it a try! Thanks for reading 🙂
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