Taylor Swift said it best: “I was living for the hope of it all.” And lately, that’s how I feel. Life is too complicated to try to be happy all the time. The complexity of the human experience begs for us to be able to feel the untangly, messy dance of emotions. And that’s never more true than now, when the semester at Queen’s gets real.
I like to think of joy as glitter. When we’re busy and often stressed, we can’t have constant joy. So look for how little bits of stardust seem to dance across each day like scintillating fairy dust. To me, it doesn’t mean you have a perfect day. It doesn’t mean that your life is perfect. It doesn’t mean you’re not feeling the pain or struggle of being human. So instead of chasing for full days of sunshine and rainbows, I have decided that even when my brain feels like it will explode if I learn any new information, I will look for glitter. I will live for the hope of it all.
So here’s some of the glitter dust speckled through my life these days:
1. Rainbows over Kingston – I love it when there are rainbows in Kingston. You can tell because suddenly you’re social media feed is completely scattered with photos of the same rainbow from every single angle. It is so wholesome. I think it’s one of the best parts of social media and so completely adorable that when we see colour painted across the sky, we want to try to capture it and cherish it somehow in the way that is most accessible at the moment.
2. Ginger Tea – It’s finally cardigan-wearing season and I am completely obsessed with sipping on some ginger tea with some honey and lemon stirred in while golden hour fades into dusk. It’s perfect magic and has honestly kept away most of the back-to-school colds.
3. Laufey’s new album Bewitched – I started listening to this album one day when I was walking to class and the ground was starting to look like sundrops and confetti had scattered all over the earth and my lanta was magic. I felt like I was in some kind of music video. This is my favourite new study soundtrack – some mellow jazz that feels like modern Ella Fitzgerald-esque and perfect for cozy study days.
4. Sparkly nail polish and a 90s rom-com – After a long day, especially when I have been typing away all day, and my brain feels maxed out of academic information, I find it important to take a moment to pause and do something to take care of myself. So I like to paint my nails with pink glitter and watch something like Ten Things I Hate About You or He’s Just Not That Into You.
5. Walks – I adore autumn weather. I like how we get to watch the progression of the seasons through each day. It’s magic. Like the earth is bathed in golden hour. And so I have resorted to trying to go on as many walks as possible to savour up the warmer air before it is dark and cold again. This feels attainable somehow, mainly because my walks are usually 10 minutes long and I think everybody has at least 10 minutes to go on a dainty little stroll around their neighbourhood.
I hope you can find some glitter scattered through your own life too - even if the going gets tough as the assignments and tests mount up! And don't forget, if you're struggling, please reach out to Student Wellness Services.
Cheers,
Hannah