I’ve come to accept that there are two types of people: people who are bursting with excitement for the holiday season, and then there are people like me. After summer dies down, school starts, and leaves begin to fall, there’s a very good chance that you can catch me lying in bed the majority of the day. The gloomy weather combined with a lack of motivation in school is a surefire combination that makes winter my least favorite time of the year.
Luckily, over the years I’ve come up with a few preventative measures that help me reduce my winter gloom down to a minimum that I’m sure can come in handy for anyone who is in the same boat!
VARY YOUR ROUTINE
For me, winter can become very repetitive. Adding fun, spontaneous plans into your day-to-day life can help break you out of a slump, and keep life interesting. For me, this looks like switching up where I go to study, making impromptu plans with my friends and going to new places!
DON’T LOCK YOURSELF IN
It can become very tempting to trap yourself in your room when it gets colder, but don’t let the cold stop you from having fun. Trust me, I know how comfy it can be to just bury yourself in blankets, but push yourself to get up, go out and socialize! You’re only in college for so long, and life is short! You might have to start saying yes to more than you initially want to, but it is so worth it. Socializing can boost your mood and help turn winter from lonely to fun.
CREATE A BALANCE
My good friend Hazel Polanco, also a wonderful writer on Her Campus Illinois, wrote a great article that details exactly how and why creating a balance is so important. I think balancing your life also really applies to the winter blues. In winter and fall school starts amping up, and it could be easy to let it consume your life. My advice is of course to do your best in school, but also make sure you’re giving yourself enough time to relax, let loose and have fun! Make sure that you’re not only taking care of your grades but also taking care of yourself. Reward all the hard work you put into studying with a girl’s night in or out! You deserve it!
Trust me, I know how difficult it is to stay motivated and positive when the seasons change from summer to fall and winter, but hopefully starting to target those feelings early can help keep them to a minimum this year.