As the warm, fuzzy feeling of Christmas cheer and guilt-free lazy days drew to a close, a looming feeling of dread suddenly began to hang over me. It wasn’t long before I had stumbled upon a self-diagnosis: the January blues were beginning to creep in.
January blues may be somewhat different for everybody. I hate to admit it, but the so-called ‘motivational posts’ that began to flood my Instagram feed in the early days of January did anything but motivate me. Truth be told, the rapid overload of influencers and celebrities telling me to ‘focus on myself’ made me want to pause and rewind back to the 25th of December, a simpler time when it was okay to sit on the couch all day and indulge yourself in an entire packet of chocolate Digestives – even the influencers seemed to be doing it, so it must have been socially acceptable, right?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for messages of positivity and using social media to support each other through times of change. For me, personally, it’s the anxious feeling that I MUST now go to the gym three times a week, whilst also meeting the girls for coffee three times a week and being ‘zen’ whilst keeping up with the endless assignments that are swiftly landing on my taxingly full plate. The often-unattainable standards associated with the New Year create a whole lot of added stress which eventually accumulate in these familiar blues that are all too common, especially in the age of the Insta-perfect lifestyle. However, there ARE ways to turn your January blues into a January muse – so here is my advice to you.
Whatever goals you have created for yourself this year, do not let the progress or success of somebody else put you off track. Something that I have found useful is unfollowing any accounts that make me feel low about myself. The smallest changes to your routine can go so far.
Secondly, if you’re a university student like me and initially feared the return to campus after a relaxing holiday period, just know that you’re not alone. It is okay to not be overly excited about returning to college. A break from the long days and busy nights was a much-needed breath of fresh air for me, and a part of me did not feel ready to part ways with the luxury of home comfort.
With that said, I’m now coming into my third week of Semester 2 and things are going much better than I thought they would be. It has been great to reunite with my college friends and share a laugh over a cup of coffee as we pretend to do our assignments. Looking back, the lengthy break from college caused me to forget about the great times I had in Semester 1, and I settled back into my usual busy routine deftly.
With the recent easing of Covid restrictions in Ireland, it can’t be denied that a new sense of hope and positivity is lingering around campus and it’s hard not to be excited about the months ahead. The January blues that stayed with me for the first few weeks of the year are now a distant memory and I am making every effort to focus on MY progress this year, not anybody else’s. And hey, with the highly anticipated reopening of Irish nightlife, many of us will be switching our January blues for January booze.
It’s been a long two years ladies – we deserve to have some fun!