Lexie’s Spring Clean

Spring has just about sprung here in southwest Michigan. We have almost made it through the harsh winter months! While staying inside on most days, I have accumulated a lot of material possessions and had lots of time to overthink and ruminate. And you know what’s good for sorting through ALL of that? Spring cleaning! Grab a physical dustpan and a metaphorical vacuum, and come on a journey with me as I think about the spring cleaning I need to accomplish. 

My Room

The most obvious spring cleaning exercise is my room. There are so many coats and sweaters that have been tossed around my room during the winter. It’s time to put that all away! And after the most stressful week of my life with many tests and projects completed, I can finally focus on washing my bedding, vacuuming my floor and dusting off the surfaces. My closet is also in dire need of some help. With spring break coming up, it’s good to do a little room overhaul before you take that nice vacation so that everything can be nice and clean when you return. Nothing is better for me than to return to school with a clean room. It’s the perfect way to prepare my mind for the last bit of the semester. 

Taking Time to Smell the Flowers 

I love spring, and with spring comes beautiful flowers. While I want to make sure I am paying attention to the flowers around me, I also want to appreciate everything around me more. With the stress of life, I often don’t take as much time as I should focusing and cherishing the things that matter. Whether that be people in my life, where I am in my life journey or even just being thankful for things I have, I want to take time to be more appreciative of the things around me in the present. 

Cleaning and Restocking My Mind Shelves

I have to admit that, in many aspects of my life, I have been lacking. I have not practiced consistent self-talk, where I am able to recenter the thoughts of myself and my feelings. I have also not been fostering spiritual aspects in my life where I focus on my relationship with God. My mind has been cluttered with all sorts of junk, such as anxiety, stress, negative emotions and feelings, and much more. However, “clearing out” those negative thoughts about my capabilities would be very helpful for my mindfulness practices. With today’s political climate, I have felt an immeasurable amount of impending doom. But rather than sit in that feeling, I could do things to take a breath. For one, I could not look so much at social media or take a break if I see something too distressing. Our minds deserve a break during these trying times. I know that working on my relationship with God would benefit me in many ways and strengthen many aspects of my life. I will go into my brain, sort through all the negative thoughts, throw a lot in the trash and replace them with shiny and beautiful thoughts. 

Real-World Prep

This is my last semester at Andrews University. I have very much enjoyed my time here, and now it’s time to get out into the real world. Scary! But it doesn’t have to be. This spring, I will be thinking about what lessons I learned from Andrews that I can carry throughout my life. As I enter graduate school or the workforce, I can think of aspects of my life that I want to change for the better. It can be daunting to leave the “Seventh-day Adventist bubble” after 18 years in it, but I know there is a lot more in store for me. Part of my spring cleaning will be removing the “I’m not prepared” or “I’m not ready” voice in my head. I am ready. I am prepared and have lots of support to help me transition into the next chapter of my life. 

As spring greets us, I hope we can all do some spring cleaning. Whether that be your living spaces, habits or ways of thinking, we all have something we can eliminate or improve. I encourage you to bask in the glow of the spring that is almost here, and I promise if you do a little spring cleaning, you’ll be more prepared for the days ahead. Happy spring cleaning!