Jenny Bathurst: "And with that, spring has sprung."

And with that, spring has sprung. I find the imagery of this season quite entertaining on reflection. Schools and shops and advertisements denote spring with lambs and chicks and colourful flowers in wicker baskets when in reality most people’s version of spring is uttering on the first particularly sunny day: ‘You can tell it’s getting warmer, can’t you!’ and then saying a similar thing when summer comes around. For me, spring induces memories of sunny days that still require a coat and scarf, colouring in paper Easter eggs with dying felt tip pens and the anticipation of the upcoming holidays growing and growing. We never imagined when we were younger that there would come a time where school holidays were no longer a natural part of the year, and rather than a six week interval of no responsibility the best type of time-off was the weekend where you desperately try not to think about the coming Monday.

I feel very fortunate to be able to work from home full time alongside my final term of my university degree, and although this means that I might not be able to enjoy the same time away from studies as my unemployed peers there is such nostalgia in knowing that these coming months will be my very last ‘term’. As a child that’s how your life is structured, in terms and school holidays, and then suddenly you are thrust into a working world where any time off required is negotiated with an employer who has your need for rest in their hands. Now I’m not complaining about this way of life with the knowledge that the work environment wouldn’t allow most to just take off for six weeks in one of the busiest times of year, but there is such reminiscence in how your schedule and lens on life alters as you grow up. As children most of us dawdled our way through life with little responsibility, with the biggest task being smuggling our homemade Easter cards home to our families without them seeing. You finish education and suddenly you feel more like an adult than you ever have done before. In a world that I’m sure most of us would prefer to be completing spring themed worksheets on addition rather than sitting in an office from 9-5, it’s scary to look back and realise that those days are well and truly behind us. But not as scary as the fact that I can no longer participate in an Easter egg hunt without looking very strange.