Every day, and especially in midterm season, I wish I had more time. Time to go back and finish readings or complete more homework problems, time to spend with loved ones and do things I love. This month, that wish has been granted since 2020 is a leap year, so February has 29 days instead of 28. The leap day – February 29, 2020, falls on a Saturday this year, so if you’re working a 9-5, Monday-Friday job you might be able to have some fun with this day.
You would think that this extra day should be extra special, but honey, I can predict the future and for me, it won’t be.
Expectation: Doing a high risk/excitement activity
Whether it’s skydiving or bungee jumping, this once in four years chance seems like a good time to do something crazy right?
So I ask you, do group project meetings and practice presentations count as crazy? Does studying deferred tax liabilities and assets count as crazy?
Expectation: Women proposing
If you haven’t watched the movie Leap Year with Amy Adams, you shouldn’t. I fell asleep after half an hour, so I don’t know how it ends, but here’s what I do know. Amy Adams’ character thinks her boyfriend is going to propose to her at dinner, instead, he gives her a pair of earrings before going to Dublin, Ireland for a conference. Naturally, she flies to Ireland (on a different plane) and tries to track him down because her grandmother had proposed on a leap day and there’s an Irish legend where women can propose to their boyfriends on leap days. Her plane encounters a storm and must land early in Wales, so she must find a way to Dublin. She can’t find an actual cab in the small town that she lands in, so she ends up getting this pub/hotel owner to drive her to Dublin and they bicker a lot in the car and get stuck behind sheep. That’s the movie.
The trailer makes the rest of the movie seem exciting, so maybe I should give it another chance given that it is a leap year this year.
Okay, ladies, for real though, we’re young and we’re still in school. Even if you’ve been dating your partner since you were in grade nine, you don’t need to rush the proposal. Repeat after me, THERE’S STILL TIME.
Expectation: Doing something unlike yourself
A leap day seems like a perfect opportunity to do something I wouldn’t normally do. The most un-like-me thing that I should be doing that day, is not procrastinating.
Expectation: Spending time with loved ones
I would love to spend the leap day with my family and friends, but I know the reality is I have a midterm on March 1 and will be restricted to study dates.
Reality: 2024 probably won’t involve midterms
So…better luck next leap year for me? That being said, take note of where you are in your life this leap year because chances are your life could be drastically different in four years.
Remember, leap days aren’t the same as New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day. The high expectations don’t need to be present for you to enjoy yourself and make the most out of it. I hope you spend the day doing some of the things you love with people you love, or at least get some productive school work done so you can ace the course you’ve been struggling with.
If your birthday happens to fall on February 29? I hope you have a FABULOUS birthday, you have waited four years for this moment.