Spring has got to be my favourite season. I love the colours, the smells, the feeling of freshness and the new blooming of plants and flowers. Spring is just a really great time for me. It should be noted that I don’t suffer from springtime allergies, which makes the season significantly easier to enjoy! One thing, however, that I’ve noticed during the changing of seasons is that they just flow so quickly. One minute it’s winter, the next it’s spring and I find myself feeling like each day is no different than the last.
I feel like being able to romanticize an event or a period of time makes it easier to enjoy and stops me from feeling like every day is the same, no matter the day or season. First, I feel like it’s important to know what the term “romanticizing” really means. When a term is thrown around on social media so much it can sometimes lose its original and intended meaning. Romanticizing something (be it an event, a person, a feeling or a moment) is to believe and act as though it is better and more enjoyable than it often is.
While romanticizing something is not always good (i.e., romanticizing a mental illness or problematic person), it can make you feel better about a certain event (like the changing of seasons!). So here are the top 10 things I plan on romanticizing this spring in order to actually take in the change from what feels like the longest winter ever!
1. Buying Myself Flowers
Nothing brightens up a space like brightly coloured fresh-cut flowers. They smell good, they look pretty and they just make me feel all happy inside. Of course, receiving flowers from someone you care about is nice, but I’ve learned that there’s nothing quite like buying flowers for myself. It’s a way to show some self-love and it’s a huge mood booster. Whether it’s a reward for the end of the week or just any old Tuesday, buying myself flowers is always a nice gesture!
2. Starting an Indoor Garden
Spring is the perfect time to start an indoor garden. Of course, I don’t plan on creating an elaborate veggie garden with different kinds of peppers, cabbages and carrots (but kudos to anyone who feels like they’re up for that). I’m talking about a simple little table with a couple of fresh herbs. This can be done using a fancy growing kit, but I’ve found buying a couple of herb plants from my local grocery store does the trick just fine! Fresh herbs are always a fun addition to meals, and they definitely make me feel like a fancy chef! It’s a perfect way to ring in spring!
3. Getting a New Plant
While we’re on the topic of getting things to brighten up a space, a new plant is also a great option. An herb garden can get overwhelming at times and fresh-cut flowers have a bad habit of dying. Not only are there different kinds of plants but there are plants for different levels of plant owners. There are plants for people who are absolute experts (see: fiddle leaf figs) and plants for beginner plant owners. While I wouldn’t call myself a beginner, I definitely find getting an easy-to-care-for plant is the best option when going into a new month. Succulents are a great plant for this “I want a simple, easy plant” feeling. They are incredibly easy and some produce pretty flowers, perfect for adding some spring colours!
4. Cleaning Up My Space
“Spring cleaning” is either your favourite thing in the world or your least favourite; there’s no in-between. While I’m not a huge fan of cleaning, I know that cleaning my space feels like I’m giving myself a fresh start. The changing of seasons is the perfect time to start fresh, especially when the entire season is centred around new beginnings. It’s ok if this process stretches into a couple of days (or weeks!), either way, it’s nice to show your space some love.
5. Going Through My Closet
Did someone say wardrobe change? I’m pretty guilty of going through a wardrobe change every time I feel like I’m in a new “era”. The problem with this is I’m always buying clothes that fit the mood or trend I want to embody at that time. Taking the time to go through the clothes I already have allows me to figure out what I want to get rid of before buying new seasonal clothes. It’s a pretty rewarding process because not only am I donating the clothes I don’t wear anymore, but I also know I have room to get new ones.
6. Cleaning Up My Social Life
I feel like taking the time to clean up my social life is something I don’t do enough. There are a few things I’m talking about when I say this. The first is going through my photos and getting rid of screenshots I don’t need or photos that have lost their meaning. The second is going through my apps and deleting the ones I don’t use (and no, not just offloading them). This will clear up storage space on your phone and get rid of the pressure to use an app just because it’s downloaded. The last (and most important) thing is going through all my followers, friends and any sort of social media connections and removing people that don’t add joy to my life. This includes random people from high school I don’t talk to, influencers I felt obligated to follow and accounts that don’t fit my current morals and values. It’s so calming to open Instagram and not roll my eyes when I see a post from an account I’ve been meaning to unfollow for a while but keep forgetting to. It absolutely makes what can be a pretty toxic place feel more personal!
7. Going for a Walk
Walking is such a simple thing, but I think my issue with it is that I’ve treated it like a chore and not a cute thing to do to boost my serotonin levels. Walking for pleasure (not for sport) is something I don’t think I’ve ever really appreciated. There are so many great walking trails (The Laurel Trail is phenomenal) and as soon as the season changes and flowers start to bloom, these trails are so peaceful to walk down. Of course, walking for exercise is great, but I have also come to appreciate that moving my body doesn’t only have to be done when I’m trying to work out. Going for a peaceful walk without feeling the need to exercise is really mentally freeing!
8. Opening My Window
This is such a small thing, but it’s something I’ve noticed that can instantly change my mood, no matter the day. During the winter, especially when it’s ridiculously cold, going outside isn’t super appealing. I started opening my window, just a bit, in order to freshen up my room and it’s ended up becoming super helpful. I enjoy being able to take a breath of fresh air, even when I’m just in my room. I find it makes me more productive and just gives me a little happiness boost. Now that the days are starting to warm up, this is definitely something I’m going to continue to do. There’s something about breathing in fresh air without having to go outside that just feels genuinely neat to me!
9. Creating a Vision Board
I always try to do this at the beginning of the new year to figure out what my personal goals are for the year and what I want to focus on. While I found doing a new one each month became overwhelming, I’ve also noticed that one a year doesn’t feel like enough. My goals and values tend to change throughout the year and what I’m hoping to accomplish in September isn’t always the same thing I was hoping to accomplish in January. Thus, this year I’ve decided to make a new vision board every month, in addition to the board I made at the beginning of the year. Vision boards are so fun and they allow me to use Pinterest (my favourite app in the whole world) to add pretty little pictures. It’s calming and in addition to my Pinterest addiction, it’s an easy way to stay on top of my goals and the things that are valuable to me throughout the year.
10. Reflecting
The last and most important thing I want to start romanticizing this year is the art of reflection. For me, this isn’t just a couple of seconds of internal reflection while I’m lying in bed (however, this is a great way to reflect if that’s what works for you!). During the changing of seasons, I want to try and set aside a couple of minutes at the end of my day to reflect on the day’s events. I feel like this will help me practice gratitude as well as let me discuss different challenges and think about how I worked through them. Reflecting is such a personal thing and being able to appreciate the time I’m spending with myself is something I feel is good to start practicing now.
Being able to romanticize your life is something I’ve discovered to be more helpful than I thought it would be. It makes things that seem mundane (like cleaning, school, work or really anything in life) feel much more enjoyable. While romanticizing doesn’t work every time, there’s no harm in giving it a try. So throw on a fun little Spotify playlist, and a cute outfit and take a deep breath. This is the only life you get, so why not make the most of every small moment?!