So, December is at our doorstop and, is it just me, or is anyone else a little bit dubious about what this month can bring?
I don’t want to sound like a Scrooge, as for most of us December equals Christmas, which results in fun festivities. However, as well as its perks, the month of December is actually more depressing than it seems for the following reasons…
1) No money
Most of us are students on a budget and we know that the end of term means that our loan has run out and we will have to wait until January for the next instalment; brilliant. However, we are still expected to buy our friends and family presents, although we simply can’t afford the requests for Pandora charms and Xbox games. I can safely say that I expect I won’t be the only one haggling with NatWest over the holidays to persuade them to extend my already large enough overdraft.
2) SNOW
I’m not going to lie, but I’m not a massive fan of snow. Yes, it’s fun to play in for the first hour or so but even then there’s the risk of being hit in the face by a giant snow ball! However, the worst thing about this new layer of snow is that it turns to ice, which sticks around for days on end and just makes leaving the house impossible! No matter hard you try not to fall over, you will fall and you will embarrass yourself. You could be wearing the newest snow boots, or just have incredibly good balance, but I’m afraid to say it – you are going down. We’ve all experienced this ourselves and laughed at others for doing it, but walking on ice is impossible, fact.
3) Who to kiss under the mistletoe?
As it happens, December is one of those months when annoyingly smug couples seem to pop up everywhere – walking around Christmas markets, holding hands at outdoor ice rinks; they are just unavoidable. Every December brings with it that extra pressure of finding that “special someone” to canoodle with at a Christmas party. Then comes that dreaded question from your patronising aunt: “Have you managed to get yourself a boyfriend this year then?” This is of course followed by the reply: “No, not this year, I’ve decided to concentrate on my studies.” Which is obviously just a lie we use to convince ourselves.
To make it worse, then comes the most dreaded night of the year for most singletons; NYE, as nobody wants to be left alone for the countdown. So, we then make it our aim to find any old guy just so we can say we had a New Years Eve kiss. The next day, of course, we deeply regret this decision whilst nursing our horrible hangovers.
4) Piling on the pounds
Statistics have proven that gyms make most of their membership money in the months after Christmas, as people have spent their holidays consuming far too much luxury food and alcohol. Just think of all those boxes of Celebrations, trays of mince pies and endless glasses of mulled wine which you are faced with everyday. The temptation is just too much and the voice in my head shouts “Go on, have another one- it’s Christmas!” To make it worse, the gym is also out of the question. You just can’t go to the gym over Christmas. It’s all about cuddling up on the sofa and watching classic Christmas films such as Home Alone, or playing hilarious games of Charades and Scrabble.
5) Exam stress
As we are all students at Leeds, ‘Christmas holidays’ for us no longer means a month of fun with no work to do. It now means reading, essay writing and hardcore exam revision in preparation for the dreaded January exams. So, what used to be the best holiday of our lives is now full of stress and anxiety. Some of us, I’m sure, will even be staying around longer or coming back up to Leeds earlier in order to make use of the library books before the swarm of eager students hit the Eddy B at the start of exam week.