Be More Interesting Spring
Hot Girl Summer's cooler big sister
I don’t want to be hot I want to be fun and interesting and weird.
A few weeks ago, after going to a group pottery class with some friends, I impulsively signed up for an Intro To Handbuilding And Wheel Throwing course. I’ve always loved collecting ceramics and I’ve thought about trying pottery before, but I would always make some excuse about it being too expensive or hard to fit into my schedule. In reality it was just some vague sense of inertia stopping me, which is so!!! boring!!!
I digress, what I’m trying to say is, I want to make a more conscious effort to try more new things. It’s so easy to get comfortable in routines, especially when you live with a partner, and while I love the familiarity of routine, I’m 23, I want to be using my 20’s for what their meant for. Which is trying new things, being bad at stuff, getting good at stuff, being really really bad at stuff and still doing it because its fun! I want to be busier! I know no one wants to talk about it ever, but I think the pandemic killed the momentum of youth for so many of us, and I want my momentum back! I’m taking it back!!
Spring is the time for new beginnings, so this felt like the perfect time for a challenge. This March, I’m going to be trying one new thing everyday! I’ll try to report back weekly here on substack but I’ve never done anything like this before, so maybe it will be terribly boring and I’ll have nothing to report.
In a super chill way, lets lay out some ground rules and some plans. I want to do my best to ensure success, which means trying my best to plan some of this out in advance so I’m not trying to think of something new everyday. I want to give myself a kind of menu to choose from.
Rule no.1
Try something new everyday… except for Sunday. Giving myself Sundays off still means 26 days of trying new things, which I think is plenty.
Rule no. 2
Trying new recipes doesn’t count. This is a rule I have to set for myself because I love cooking and could cook something new everyday regardless of this challenge. This rule is essentially here to keep me accountable and to close a loophole. *The only exception to this rule is if I try Gordon Ramsey’s beef wellington recipe, I’ve wanted to try it for years but I’ve never eaten beef wellington and it kind of freaks me out.
Rule no.3
I want to try to do this challenge without just buying a bunch of stuff for a bunch of potential new hobbies that might not stick, leaving me with things gathering dust and cluttering up my already pretty small living space. This just means I have to get a little creative about trying new things, but I think that makes it more fun! If you have any ideas for new things to try, leave a comment!
Ideas so far:
nail art - i used to do this a lot as a tween, but now i’m boring and only ever paint my nails solid colours
attend a philly run club - i did run club a few times in manchester, but have never tried one here in philly
go to book club - march 16th philly bookworms here i come, its a byob book club that i’ve wanted to go to for a while, but i keep being out of philly when they meet
try a new kind of work out class - this is just a shameless excuse for me to sign up for a 10 day trial at the very fancy pilates studio near me, but i also want to try solidcore and maybe rock climbing?
try a new video game - the only games i’ve ever played are stardew valley and spirit farer and i wan’t to try something new!
try a new board game - my husband and i bought root a few months ago and love it, but i want to try something new
host board game night - i only ever invite my friends over to hang out and yap, i want to play host!
try to grow a plant or herb - my apartment is very small and we have no windowsills so this may be a pipe dream, but this is try new things, not succeed at new things
geocaching - i don’t know if you can do this in a city, but i’m going to try!
try to solve a rubix cube - i went to high school with someone who could solve a rubix cube with his feet
do a 24 hour read a thon - this one is kind of cheating because i used to do this when i was really young, but i haven’t done one since i was like 12 so i feel like this counts
try junk journaling - this one also is kind of cheating, i’ve sort of junk journaled before, but i recently bought some stickers to make it more fun and i haven’t used them yet so this still counts… maybe
go on a run with no music - i don’t know if i can raw dog a run like that, but i want to try
knitting - i’ve knit a little bit before, but i want to take the plunge on actually starting a knitting project for the first time
start working on my short story - i’ve always dabbled with fiction writing, but i’ve never really taken it seriously and tried to write a draft and even if it never sees the light of day, i wan’t to try writing a short story
listen to a new album - this is so silly, but there are so many albums i want to listen to that i’ve put off for whatever reason, this month i swear i’m finally going to listen to the new Ethel Cain album
a whole day without social media - i just feel like this would be a fun challenge!
go on a paint and sip date - my husband and i love a good craft based date, and we live near three!! paint and sip places and haven’t tried one
try a Pittsburgh sandwich - i’m going to Pittsburgh this month and i simply must have one
go rollerblading - i haven’t rollerbladed since i was like 9, but i am convinced i’ll still be good at it
try a new cheesesteak spot - my husband and i are loyal to jims, and have been putting off trying angelos for like months now
work at a new coffee shop - there are so many cute cafe’s in philly, but i always end up at the one i live right next to lol
go to a bollywood dance class - been wanting to do this ever since i left high school and simply never have
try watercolour painting - my in-laws got me a watercolour kit for christmas and i still haven’t gotten around to trying it, oops
post a recipe on substack - spoilers, but I wan’t to start posting recipes on here because i love cooking and i’ve wanted to for ages, this is a good excuse to take the plunge
try a new bar or restaurant - i have to have some easy ones on this list lol
go to an event at the rittenhouse astronomical society - objectively that so cool
go see a new play or musical - this one is cheating because i have to write a theatre review for a class, but it counts!
try a new meditation - i’ve been meditating off and on for a few years now, and over the years i’ve fallen into routines in terms of my favourite meditations, i use balance and they have so much stuff i haven’t tried yet
try re reading a dnf’d book - i’ve never tried to re read something i’ve dnf’d in the past so this is technically trying something new. i’ve wanted to try re reading the raven cycle for a while now so maybe i’ll get around to it this month
try a new tea or coffee beverage - this feels almost like cheating… beverages are kind of a subset of cooking, but i’ll leave it here for now
go to a philly quizzo night - american pub quiz core
go to a new museum - i live in philly, the only museum i’ve been to is the art museum and i feel like that needs to change
Alright, thats my list of ideas so far, I have more than I need, which feels like the ideal scenario. I’m excited to start going through this list in March, and I hope this might inspire someone reading this to try something new today!