Winter Vibes

I have a love/hate relationship with winter, it’s my least favourite time of the year and not because I want it to be, but because I just can’t cope with cold weather. My body feels it. All over. And it’s not fun. But, aside from my bodily pains, winter is special to me; I fell in love for the first time in winter; I have cherished childhood memories from winter and also my most recent years. The winter months have been a time of personal growth and achievement for me over my past 18 years on planet earth, and I feel I owe it to winter to show it some love. So, here is my little post about winter.

Winter this year (if I’m completely honest) I’ve spent mostly on my bed; making art, listening to music, finding inspiration in other people’s art, doing uni assignments, staying up all night and sleeping all day. On the occasion that I did decide to leave my humble abode, I would go for a nice walk or go shopping in town. I’ve spent a fair portion of my time on public transport this season, going where ever it can take me (with the hopes that I have enough money on my MetroCard to afford the trip). I have prominent memories of sitting in the back row seats of the bus with my friends, bottle of wine in hand, on the way to the city to dance our nights away. Speaking of which, this year in particular, I’ve been out mostly to town, going to indie nights at clubs and many, many gigs. I’ve seen King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, The Cure, Methyl Ethyl, Cub Sport (my fave!!) and many other bands which I love – and you can probably tell I do from the cosy playlist I made for this wintery blog post.

When I think of winters in the past, I think of freezing mornings where I’d wake at 7:00am and play netball in a short, sleeveless dress while my skin was covered in goose bumps. No amount of running up and down the court could warm my cold, cold soul. But, it was all worth it if I was able to get my hands on a servo hot chocolate after the game. I think of sausage sizzles at Bunnings. I think of long trips in the car where I’d watch the rain patter down on the window and draw flowers and smiley faces on the fogged glass while the hits of the 2000s were blasting from the radio. I think of kicking the footy with my dad and learning how to skateboard down at the local skatepark. I think of hanging out with my neighbours that were around my age, playing computer games, imaginary games and jumping on the trampoline. Being the adventurous young girl I was, any excuse to get outside I jumped on. Nowadays, especially with Adelaide’s freezing cold weather and my lack of warm attire, I often opt to do indoor things. 

Winter is the sound of rain on a tin roof when you’re drifting off to sleep. It’s dewy grass and big full moons that beam down from the sky to greet the night. It’s the smell of cement during light rain. It’s running or speed walking to get somewhere because it’s too cold to just walk. It’s foggy drives in the early morning and gloomy drives in the dusk. It’s candles for power-outages and soothing bubble baths that you could sit in for hours. It’s going to parties, drinking to keep warm and dancing all night.

Winter is glasses of orange juice, mugs of hot tea and coffee and icey cold beers in jugs. It’s steamy veggie soup, tonnes of bread, spoonfuls of rice and big bowls of pasta that keep you warm and satisfied. 

Winter is woollen shawls and scarves, baggy, thrifted jeans with leggings worn underneath, oversized jackets, oversized shirts, oversized everything. Layers. Comfy shoes. Big, fuzzy socks. Fingerless gloves. Beanies.

Winter is adventure, quality fun, pure happiness and love. Winter, to me, is dancing under the night sky, the moon smiling down upon you, the stars twinkling. The air is cool and crisp, it makes my cheeks flush as I twirl round and round. Winter, to me, is a feeling of refreshment and replenishment.

Winter is, literally and figuratively, a breath of fresh air.

Winter Playlist

Friday I’m In Love // The Cure

Come On Mess Me Up // Cub Sport

The River // King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Pb Remains // Horror My Friend

Oblivious // The Strokes

Lotus Flower // Radiohead

Twilight Driving // Methyl Ethel

Ancient Egypt // The Orwells

Rolling On // The Murlocs

Real Love // Homeshake

Chamber of Reflection // Mac Demarco

Had To Hear // Real Estate

On The Chin // Kings of Leon