As the weather has been slowly thawing out throughout the spring, I’ve had a renewed sense of energy. I’ve had a strong desire lately to go outside and be a part of the physical world around me. This is in contrast to the cold winter days of December where all I fantasized about after leaving for work in the morning was going home and wrapping myself in blankets and not going out for the rest of the day.

In the winter, I would go straight home after work. But lately, I’ve been finding excuses to linger in the sunshine and community around me before heading straight back. This lingering might look like taking a long meandering walk around the neighborhood while the sun warms my skin and the wind blows through my hair.  Or it may look like walking into a building that was clearly once a family residence, and has now been converted into a small counter-serve restaurant, and deciding fried chicken sounds good for dinner. Sometimes, it means ducking into a coffee shop and reading a few pages from the book in my bag.

When the spring first arrived this year, I took a vacation and hopped on a plane. I flew back home to see family for the first time in years and have just recently returned from that trip. While it was lovely going back to my hometown, I ended up missing my new and current home. When I came back it was almost as though I had taken the city that I left behind for granted and I just wanted to be part of it and soak up as much of it as possible. So, in addition to my long meandering walks through nearby neighborhoods and late afternoons in coffee shops, I’ve been going out.

I went out to meet my friend for drinks this week. We’ve both been through some changes in our lives and had wanted to reconnect. It had been quite some time since I’d been to a bar on a weekday and I was shocked at how crowded it was. We were elbow to elbow with strangers, literally, at the bar. Then she convinced me to visit a second bar, where we scored a giant pretzel with neon yellow cheese dipping sauce to take with us.

I also went to a concert in the middle of the workweek. The artist was one I had never heard of, but I had gotten the tickets for free and was excited at the prospect of checking out a venue I had never been to. Getting to the start of the concert was a trial. I had to stand outside in a massive line in cold biting wind. Once inside and through security, I had to backtrack my steps in order to get a wristband so that I could order a nearly $20 beer. I then spent nearly an hour in a crowd of strangers slowly sipping my overpriced beverage. I felt in that moment like an idiot for paying that much for a beer. But I was also grateful for the distraction from the pre-show boredom.

Then the concert began and it was a treat. Both the opener and the main act were talented performers, and their shows were vibrant, earnest, and celebratory. The audience had the vibe of being mostly young, sensitive, and more introverted. However, the energy was positive and buzzing after the show. Girls gushed to their girlfriends, thanking them for bringing them along to the show.

I worked my way through the massive crowd after the concert and hopped the train back home. After I was back for the night, I was filled with gratitude. I felt thankful for spring and the upcoming promise of summer. I was happy both for the city I chose to live in as an adult and for having a solid place to go back to. I am excited for the new growth that spring brings.