Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of things regarding the topic of minimalism. Apparently, it’s the concept of “less is more.” But what exactly does that mean in terms of your life? Well, the way I see minimalism is to live a higher quality over quantity type of life. We all want better things, better people, better experiences in our life, but achieving that level of better may seem unattainable.

Minimalism, simply put, is to own fewer things and cut out negative relationships of our lives to make room for more positivity and more happiness. This is quality over quantity. A few great items of clothing is better than a ton of cheap things that fall apart. The same goes for people. A few great, close friends beat a bunch of acquaintances or fake friends any day (at least for me). Just from my experience, cutting out negative relationships that brought me down was one of the best things I could've done for myself. It opened up my time to the few people who matter most to me.

Relationships are not the only thing I felt good eliminating the excess of from my life. I recently purged a ton of makeup I owned (and forgot I owned) because honestly, I don’t have the time or energy to use all of that. I am good with just mascara, face powder, and a little bit of eyeshadow. Clothes are something I purge often. I find that I hold on to clothes for way too long despite the fact I don’t wear them for years. I have a weird attachment to some of my clothes that make me feel guilty for a few days after donating them. I am slowly learning that clothes are just things and they don’t actually matter that much however much I tell myself I must keep that sweater that’s too small because “it reminds me of Christmas” or that shirt with holes in it because “it could be a pajama shirt now.” Attachment to things is the first relationship that needs to cut when trying to pursue minimalism.

As of now, I am definitely not a minimalist, but it is something I would like to describe myself as someday. What inspired this minimalism journey is my upcoming study abroad experience. I know that I basically have to pack up my life into an approximately 62 linear inch luggage, a 9x14x22 inch carry-on, and a small personal item. I don’t know about you, but that seems a little small to pack up my life to go live in a new country for five months.

So, I begin my minimalism journey. My process of eliminating the unnecessary things and strengthening the great relationships I am so fortunate to have in my life. My goal is to be able to pack everything I plan to bring to study abroad into those three bags and be satisfied with what I packed. I don’t want to feel like I am missing or forgetting something. I want to be content with a limited amount of things because when I am abroad, I will be able to pack up and go wherever, whenever I want.