After chatting with my roommates, we all agreed upon the existence of a February slump. As I write this, it reminds me of an “Arthur” episode I watched a while back (meaning it clearly must have left an impact… not because I watch it regularly, although I admittedly would watch it if I was channel surfing and saw it on. But I digress).
Basically, the point of the episode was that the kids wanted to create a new holiday because everyone was in such a weird funk. It was winter, it was after Christmas and people needed some excitement.
When Valentine’s Day rolled around they found a cure to their “Long Dull Winter,” the clever title PBS gave to this episode that describes the adolescent boredom between New Year’s and Valentine’s Day. However, after some further discussion with my roommates, we realized it affects not just third graders but even adults.
What’s the deal? Why are some of us in a funk? I figured out it could be a plethora of things. First, it’s winter and it’s cold, and we want to wear clothes that bundle us up and tend to reveal little flesh to the world. Combined with the presence of delicious winter treats and drinks, and because we are so bundled up, it’s easy to let our fitness regimens slide.
It’s difficult to find the motivation to go to the gym when you’re all bundled up in blankets and sporting your fuzzy socks, sipping on some hot chocolate while watching an “NCIS” marathon. Ergo, body image takes a dip. We don’t gain 50 pounds, but we definitely aren’t as toned and fit as we are in the warmer months.
Being pale doesn’t help either. Sure, I could go tanning but that’s not the same. Overall, being pale and having qualms about your body isn’t a great combination and contributes to the February slump.
Next: Valentine’s Day. This holiday is beaten to the ground and I won’t spend much time on it. Short and sweet: it’s great for people in relationships and not so great for people who don’t like to be reminded of their singlehood. Moving on.
I mentioned the weather. Fortunately, the weather in Omaha hasn’t been too brutal this month — some spring-like days sprinkled in here and there — but in general, it’s still cold, cloudy and definitely not as blissful as the warm sunny days of summer. Lack of sun means lack of vitamin D and we need our vitamin D to stay healthy.
Being sick brings you down a notch in this February slump. Nobody likes hacking up a lung or using a box of Kleenex every two days. Invest in some DayQuil, clean off door handles with Lysol and cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing. Don’t let this month get the best of you.
For whatever reason, school and outside activities get 10 times busier this month. Everyone’s settled in after getting back from break and things get rolling.
It’s no longer classes that explain what you will be doing this semester or meetings upon meetings of what you hope to accomplish — it’s the real deal.
Not only that, but it is a full month of school without any breaks. With midterms creeping up on us, stress levels are high with projects and papers that are jam-packed before the break. It’s understandable that people count down the days to spring break.
With all of these reasons, it makes sense that February sucks — which is weird, given that it’s the shortest month. I remember last February, (when Pandora still had limited listening time) I used up my free 40 hours. An attempt to spice up my dull boring days? Probably. Now you can listen as long as you want!
Spice up your dull days and listen to a new channel. Power through those tests and papers. Go to the gym and get those happy-inducing endorphins flowing. Before you know it, you’ll be hanging out in South Padre or helping the less fortunate on a service trip and life will be good.