As a college student, I think it’s really easy to fall into a routine where every day starts to feel the exact same as the one before. Between lectures, assignments, and work, most days it feels like I’m just trying to make it to the end of the week. But what happens after that? It’s just another week of the same things, and the cycle repeats itself. While there’s nothing wrong with looking forward to the weekend or the next school break, I think so many of us wait for something exciting to happen instead of finding ways to enjoy our everyday lives.
Because of this, I’ve always loved finding little ways to make life a bit more exciting, whether it’s making a super specific playlist, creating a new Pinterest board, or planning a fun day to look forward to. One of my favorite ways to do this is by curating my own personal aesthetic for every season of the year.
I was particularly inspired by TikTok creator @malloryfig, who shares her own personalized seasons, including but not limited to “Malfig Fall” and my personal favorite, “Malfig Summer.” I love the idea of creating your own version of each season rather than just following the traditional aesthetics associated with them.
For me, romanticizing the seasons is about more than just making things look pretty. It’s about finding excitement in the little things and creating moments that make your life brighter, even when things get repetitive or overwhelming.
creating my own seasonal identity
One of my favorite parts of romanticizing the seasons of the year is creating a different personal aesthetic for each one. I like to think of myself almost as a brand. Just like a brand might change its colors, packaging, or advertising for a new season, I can create different seasonal versions of my own personal style.
It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean completely reinventing yourself every time the weather changes. Rather, I think it’s a fun way to explore different parts of your personality while staying true to the core things you love.
For example, my fall aesthetic is all about pink and brown, coffee shops, knit sweaters, and Sex and the City. My fall playlist includes albums like Taylor Swift’s folklore and Clairo’s Charm, which I feel perfectly capture that cozy feeling of the season.
Winter, on the other hand, is a lot more sparkly and whimsical. I take a lot of inspiration from the icon Glinda from Wicked, especially the pink dresses, bubbles, and metallic details. I love iridescent things, glitter, and anything that feels a little magical.
Spring is probably my most colorful season. Since my birthday is in April, I associate spring with childhood nostalgia, rainbows, flowers, confetti, and all the little things that made this time of year so exciting to me when I was younger. My spring playlist is filled with softer, nostalgic music from artists like Corinne Bailey Rae and Santana, which is the kind of music my mom played while decorating for my birthdays.
Finally, summer is all about bright colors, tropical imagery, and a coming-of-age 2000s flick vibe. I love the coconut girl aesthetic that was trending a few years ago, and my summer playlist is full of nostalgic pop music that reminds me of summers as a little kid.
Even though these aesthetics are all different, they still feel like real versions of me. I think that’s what makes creating your own seasons so fun. You get to decide what each one looks and feels like, regardless of what everyone else associates with that time of the year.
start with a pinterest board and a playlist
If you’re interested in creating your own seasonal aesthetics, my biggest recommendation is to start with two things: a Pinterest board and a playlist.
Personally, I have Pinterest boards for every season, along with certain holidays and even some individual months mixed in there. I fill my boards with anything that reminds me of the atmosphere I’m trying to create, including but not limited to outfits, colors, decorations, food, activities, and cute photography.
I think Pinterest is especially helpful because it allows you to visualize the kind of atmosphere you want to bring into your life. I also like making folders on TikTok and Instagram with posts that inspire me as well. I really love those mood board videos where it’s like a Pinterest board coming to life with a cute song in the background.
Music is another huge part of this for me. I make a separate playlist for each season and switch between them according to my own seasonal calendar. My winter begins right after Christmas and lasts until March 1, when I switch over to spring. Spring lasts until June 1, and summer usually ends when classes start again. Fall continues until December 1, which is when I fully embrace my favorite holiday, Christmas, and listen to Christmas music until the holidays are over. I don’t really follow the official calendar because I think part of the fun is deciding when you want to celebrate what.
When creating your playlists, my personal recommendation is to focus on the feeling you want to capture rather than just choosing songs that might mention things about the season. Sometimes, a song reminds me of a specific time of year for different reasons, which I think makes my playlists more personal to me. I also started these seasonal playlists originally because I wanted to create more memories for myself. I realized that the music that I listened to during certain times of my life brought me back whenever I revisited them. I think this can also be a benefit of seasonal playlists: it helps you capture your internal memories so much better.
bring your pinterest boards to life
As much as I love making mood boards and playlists, I think the most important part of romanticizing the seasons is actually finding ways to incorporate them into your everyday life.
And the best part? You don’t have to spend a bunch of money to do it!
One way I like to embrace the seasons is through little changes to my everyday routine. For example, I wear the same signature perfume throughout the year, but sometimes I’ll switch the lotion I pair it with to create a scent combination that feels more appropriate for the season. You can also experiment with seasonal outfits, accessories, makeup, or decorations using things you already own.
I think one of the best ways to embrace the seasons is through food and activities. For fall, you could try a new coffee shop, do a frosty manicure in winter, grab lunch and eat at a park in spring, and get a slushie and tan in the summer. The possibilities are really endless, and they don’t have to be super elaborate. Sometimes, something as simple as listening to a specific album while getting ready for class can make a boring morning feel more magical.
I also think it’s important to note that romanticizing your life doesn’t mean constantly buying new things or trying to recreate everything you see on Pinterest. Your mood boards should be inspiring you to enjoy your life, not make you feel as if you need to change everything about it.
giving yourself something to look forward to
While I love the creative aspect of curating my own seasons, I think the biggest benefit is having little things to look forward to throughout the year.
This is especially important to me as a college student because a lot of the time my life can turn into an endless cycle of lectures and deadlines. Between school, work, and your personal life, it’s very easy to fall into a routine where you’re just trying to get through the weekend.
I also think college gets really lonely sometimes, especially when you’re busy or don’t always have someone to make plans with. I think we can feel like we need a special occasion or a big friend group to have a fulfilling, exciting life- but I don’t think that always has to be the case.
One really important thing I’ve learned is that you can always create those little moments of excitement for yourself.
Maybe it’s planning a solo thrifting and coffee date or watching your favorite show while tidying up. These things can seem boring and insignificant, but I’ve found that while in college, they give me something to be excited about outside of my responsibilities.
I think there’s something really comforting about knowing that even when I have a stressful day or week ahead of me, there are still little things I can do to add some more sparkle to my life.
Of course, doing all of these things isn’t going to make every day perfect. There are still going to be stressful assignments, hard weeks, and days when things just aren’t going your way. However, I think making an effort to find joy in the little things can make those mundane moments way more meaningful.
make every season your season
Ultimately, I think the beauty of curating your own seasons is that there really aren’t any rules. Your fall doesn’t have to be about neutrals and pumpkins just because that’s what everyone else has decided. If you want your winter to be pink and sparkly like Glinda, go for it!
The point isn’t to curate the perfect aesthetic or make your life look like an Instagram post everyone else is going to be jealous of. It’s about finding the small things that make you happy and sprinkling them across your everyday life.
I don’t want to spend my college years constantly waiting for the next big thing to happen. I want to find reasons to enjoy the life I have and am living right now, even if it’s not picture-perfect.
After all, why wait for life to feel magical when you can add the magic yourself?