The official start of spring is less than nine days away, and there is something beautiful about the first warm day after a long winter that just feels magical. The air feels lighter, the sun is out for just a tad bit longer and everything feels calm again. People are outside with their hammocks propped between two trees, windows open, music playing a little bit louder than before as campus slowly begins to wake up.
And after months of cold mornings, snow days and grey skies, spring quietly reminds us that things can change.
Welcome to Chill Pill, a biweekly column every Wednesday about slowing down in a world that rarely lets us do as college students. Here, we will talk about balance, burnout and the small things that can make college life feel a little less overwhelming.
The world doesn’t rush this process, but rather it happens slowly, naturally and right on time. Flowers push through the ground after being buried for months. The trees that once hung lifeless begin to grow small green buds again. And in a lot of ways, our lives work in the same manner.
Sometimes we move through semesters that feel heavy. Weeks where everything feels overwhelming, where we are unmotivated, tired and unsure of what comes next. There are assignments, expectations and the constant feeling that you should always be doing more. But spring reminds us that life isn’t meant to stay in winter forever.
Just like the seasons, we are always changing. Growth doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it is small. Sometimes it is simply getting through a hard week, trying again after something that didn’t work out or even giving yourself a chance to relax.
And maybe that is the little lesson that spring brings with it: starting again does not have to be a big moment.
We often think that starting over needs to be dramatic. A huge decision. A moment when everything clicks into place suddenly. But more often than not it does not look like that at all. Most beginnings are quiet. They look like choosing to get out of bed on a day where you would have rather slept in. Sending the text or having a conversation that you’ve been putting off. Letting yourself laugh a little easier after a week that felt heavy. And in today’s case, sit outside for a few minutes just because spring is right around the corner.
These are small and unnoticeable shifts.
Spring does not rush itself and neither do the things that grow with it. Flowers do not bloom overnight and trees do not become green again in a single afternoon. It does happen slowly — one warm day at a time.
Maybe our lives work in that same way too.
Not through huge transformations but through the small moments where we allow ourselves to try again. To believe that things can get lights. To soften a little.
And maybe that is what makes spring feel so hopeful.
It reminds us that nothing stays cold forever. That even after long stretches of grey skies and cold mornings, warmth will find its way back. So maybe this season isn’t asking you to reinvent your life or partake in a “spring reset.” Maybe it is asking you to begin again in small ways. Step outside. Let the sun sit on your face a little longer than usual. Take a breath.
Because sometimes starting again isn’t loud or dramatic.
Sometimes it is just the first warm day after winter.