Ingrid MALDONADO
Sunshine, warmth, shorts, ice coffee, sandals.
The weather is gorgeous, it’s in the seventies, people are outside enjoying the sun and all of a sudden, I feel alive again.
This weather is quite shocking because just last week I wrote about winter.
School got canceled twice due to snow and the freezing cold temperatures. Now this week everyone and their dog is outside.
It is crazy how winter can really affect people’s mental health. In the winter, I feel more down, less joyful, and less grateful. Once winter is ending and people can wear shorts, I feel like myself again. Being able to walk outside without shivering, running to my car is so nice. Being able to not have to plan to wear multiple layers is nice. Being able to enjoy the outdoors is nice.
Somehow all my favorite memories that I can remember off the top of my head come from warmer seasons and never winter. From going to the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa and enjoying the luscious garden outdoors. To then go and grab an iced latte and enjoy a walk. As a photographer, I am always so excited for warm weather. That is when you can enjoy taking photos, rather than when you are shivering.
I absolutely cannot wait until all the greens appear.
When fall begins I start getting sad because I know all of the beautiful trees are going to lose their green leaves. Then during the winter all the trees look like sad skeletons, lifeless without their leaves. But then right before winter is about to end, I get excited about all the colors that are going to start popping up.
The beautiful colors of spring are near, and I cannot wait. Spring gives me hope because I know life will be beautiful all over again. It is an endless cycle of different seasons, just like life.
As the weather warms, my passions for photography and gardening also begin to bloom. I cannot wait to start gardening, putting my hands in soil.
I cannot wait to go grab an iced latte and sit outside and chat with a friend. I cannot wait until my photos are full of colors of green.
Another season of life is coming and I could not be any more happier.