Eternal Spring

I love spring, but who doesn't? It's natural for most of us to associate the tiny pink or white flowers exploding on crisp trees with our own internal sense of renewal. It's also easy as a Midwest native to appreciate spring. As an Iowa resident, I eagerly look forward to feeling warm sunlight on my face after yet another long, cold winter. The sun's nearly here again, but I'm currently celebrating my spring break (as a teacher), and true to pretty much every Iowa spring break I've experienced, it's snowing.

Regardless of the early spring snowfall, I'm feeling optimistic for whatever the rest of 2021 holds. Though I like to think of myself as an optimist in general, I know that what's helping me keep that optimism is a dedication to novel experiences.

I've always been drawn to new experiences, which is probably why I've visited over a dozen countries, jumped out of an airplane, and taught English in Beijing for two years (post-divorce, pre-pandemic). COVID-19 has of course lengthened the list of what we can't (or shouldn't) do during our free time, but this doesn't mean that seeking novelty is impossible. And though finding new experiences is a bit harder now, I'm convinced that finding anything new to do is vitally important for not only my mental health but also for setting a clear path for the year ahead.

Here's what I'm doing to "spring forward" and try to make the best of this year so far:

1. I make lists. As a teacher, this is a task I'm already quite fond of, but I've noticed that list-making, even for something as small as a grocery list for an international market that I don't often visit, helps me create clear, realistic goals that I can then check off. And I make lists of various scopes and sizes, too--there's a list of goals for the year in my journal, a monthly list of goals on my big whiteboard (which is visible from anywhere in my room), and smaller weekly or daily lists that I keep track of in my agenda book. (Yes, I still have an agenda book, just like when I was a student...old habits die hard.) It helps that I've found a partner who also enjoys list-making; we inspire each other with lists of recipes we want to cook within a week or a month as well as bigger lists of goals. (He typically starts with an impressive list of 200+ things he wants to accomplish in a given year and slowly whittles it down to about 30 items he can realistically achieve.) Not only does this habit keep us organized, but it always gives us something to look forward to or strive to accomplish.

2. I take "tiny trips" whenever I can afford them. In our current pandemic reality, I'm not flying to exotic places. Instead, I peruse homestay apps once in awhile and occasionally stay in a house by myself for a couple of nights. (My favorite app is Airbnb, but there are other good ones, of course.) This goes back to the novelty concept. Right now, for example, I'm writing this piece in the living room of an apartment that's only about two miles from my actual apartment. This may seem like a silly or frivolous thing to do, but every time I try a different place away from home, even if it's very close to home, I return feeling refreshed and renewed. My mind is stimulated by doing ordinary things, like cooking, in a new place. I also often get decorating ideas from the places I stay in, which helps me look at the aesthetics and functionally of my "full-time space" with renewed eyes. (This new perspective seems especially important now that I'm teaching entirely from home. I haven't been inside a real classroom in over a year, so I'm always looking for ways to improve my "office," which is currently also my bedroom.)

3. I strive to stay connected to the outside world. Even though my eyes sometimes scream at me for staring at a computer screen six to eight hours a day, I try to make use of the virtual opportunities available online that help me try new things. One of the really cool benefits of this Zoom world we now live in is that I have access to many events that would have been prohibitively expensive to me before. For example, I recently applied to a virtual writing conference that will take place this July. The conference is normally held in New York, so in a normal, non-pandemic year, I'd have to pay for not only the conference fees but also my transportation and lodgings. As sick as I am of seeing people in little squares on a screen, I have to admit that getting to do stuff like this virtually is a novel experience that keeps me engaged and excited for the future.

I hope we all get through this strange time together, but until the pandemic is officially behind us, why not give some new things a try? Don't forget to wander outside and admire the spring blossoms, too.