If you’re reading this, then you’ve probably read my previous articles where I mainly focus on mental health, healing, stress relief, etc. Most of the time I mention journaling and therapy, but I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned my true pride and joy: my plant babies. I know I’m not alone when I say I went plant crazy when COVID started becoming a serious issue and the first quarantine began. When you’re stuck at home all day with just school to focus on, the days can get boring and you don’t feel like you have much to care for. Like a lot of other people, my mental health declined yet again during quarantine, and I knew I needed to do something to help be on a relatively decent routine.
Some days I would travel the easy 30-minute drive to my hometown and visit my family when I knew it was safe to do so. One thing I kept my eye on when I came home was my mom’s ever-growing plant family. I think she started out with 4-8, but she definitely has over 30 plants at this point. Seeing her collection grow built my interest in plants, even though I thought I might end up killing them in less than a week. Eventually I bought a couple starter plants that were easy for beginners. I should’ve waited a month before I got new ones, but it seems my new “me time” is finding a new plant or two every couple of weeks. Living in a small apartment, I am always losing space to my plants, as I currently have 18 growing and alive plants, and two plates full of succulents that I am propagating. And this happened within a span of 6 months.
Maybe it’s just the fact that I like greenery and nature, but my beautiful plant babies have helped me come out of a dark, deep COVID hole. My weekly schedule might not be 100% all the time, but the one thing I do keep consistent is the care for my plants (that usually happens every Sunday or the spritzing of my succulents whenever they need it). Because I now have quite the array of plants, I’m getting out of bed at least once a day (which a lot of people can agree is a hard task) and gazing at them or making sure they are always healthy and thriving. I don’t really know where I would be right now mentally without my plants. Some of my best days have been taking a break from school and just shopping around different places and looking at plants. It’s even better when a store has a plant that is not getting the care it needs, and you’re the person to bring it back to its full potential. But the plants also bring you back and help you thrive, and you don’t even notice it.
However, you don’t have to get into plants if it’s not your thing. But you should find that one activity that you know you look forward to everyday and give it your all. When you find something that brings you so much joy that you can’t wait to get out of bed to do it, that’s when you know you’ve found your place. And if you haven’t found it yet, that’s okay! All I ask of you is to stay positive and stay healthy, because we will get through this.