Sweet Musical Flowers Stemming From Self-Isolated Dirt

For every body in the UK, and most of the world for that matter, the past few weeks... (months) due to COVID-19 has been tough. Many have lost jobs, family members, friends, and plans at the hands of this devastating virus. Its effects are both mentally and physically exhausting for all. And while the uncertainty of the state of the world as we know it is unsettling, I have been determined to try and not let it rattle me.

Until recently I spent my time travelling around the world, and because of the current situation, I made the tricky decision to return back to London. Unemployed and with very little direction, I made a list of things that I wanted to achieve whilst stuck inside. Alongside items such as learning a new language and trying my hand at yoga, at the top of the list stood 'finesse Spotify playlists'.

Spotify is without a doubt the most used app on my phone, I listen to music constantly and am always on the hunt for new artists that I can get hooked on. This, in turn, leads me to creating heaps of playlists. I had almost 75 playlists that I had curated since I first downloaded Spotify in 2012 that were all over 10 hours long, over all of which I only listened to parts of. I decided that now is the time to really narrow them down and finesse them into some master pieces that I could be proud of.

Now I understand that not every one is quite as excessive as me and probably doesn't have a load of playlists to whittle down. And probably actually doesn't care or pay too much mind to the playlists that they listen to, but I do. I was determined to get as close to self-appointed perfect as possible. It was a long process, but I am so glad I did it, as it has improved my daily mood tenfold.

After hours of artist searching and toe tapping, the finished articles are something that I can really be proud of, in my own weird little way... I've created several playlists for pretty much every kind of mood, emotion, or situation, and it wasn't until I told my friends about them that they pointed out just how niche they were. For example, they mentioned the straight forward, pretty self explanatory playlist titles such as 'Songs for an impromptu road trip due to an existential crisis', and 'Key changes of historical importance'. But also enjoyed 'Teenage Angst' (for when you want to relive your beloved emo phase), and 'For the Serotonin Levels', which is a hefty playlist consisting exclusively of feel good bangers.

Not only has this process given me an opportunity to rediscover old music that I could fall in love with all over again, but setting my mind to a task and really trying to perfect the outcome has given me a means of both focus and distraction during such a strange situation. I've found that I can just plug my headphones in and get lost for hours, just therapeutically clicking away and seeing it all come together.

Now, I'm no expert, but I feel like this is something that is really helping me to cope. That being said, it might help someone else cope a little better too, if they're in need of it. And that's the purpose of this article really, is to just let people know that the littlest, most simple tasks really can help, even if it's just you who sees it. And even if I only inspire or comfort one other person in sharing my thoughts then I'll take that as a win.

For anyone interested in giving my playlists a little listen; here's a link to my Spotify profile https://open.spotify.com/user/1172198648?si=RuVyGFT6SBGeid5FSdlZ6g

Stay bold,

Sophie