Five ways to combat post-reading week blues

When I was in grade school, I used to spend the last night of summer crying in my bed. The thought of a new year, new stationery, having to wake up at six, the whole shebang terrified me. Then day one would come and I’d go back to being excited about friends, homework (It was grade school!) and the lunchbox.

Not much changed at university; we are all usually more depressed than ever at the thought of returning to school. Returning to life, and COURSES and early mornings is an intolerable thought to reconcile one’s self with.  After all, what could be worse than returning from Montreal to Scarborough? Well, a lot actually, but this is the average UTSC’ers head we’re getting into: Scarborough is the monster that often refuses to leave us alone.

SO back to the original point. After refusing to unpack my suitcase for four days after I returned to UTSC residence lest my vacation actually end, I decided to put myself through the ‘de-depressing’ process. 

5 WAYS TO COMBAT THE POST-HOLIDAY BLUES

•         Be reasonable; don’t overbook/over pack your schedule. If you’re just getting back from a week of lazing around or travelling with your friends, nothing will suck your soul out more than four classes, three meetings and a commute all in one day. Be careful when prioritizing your schedule so that it doesn't irritate you and stress you out. We have another half of a semester to go!

•            Instead of spending your time reminiscing and allowing yourself to feel frustrated with life, try to do something constructive with your memories. This is a good time to write about whatever you feel like; you have a free pass to spend hours photoshopping/collaging/uploading photos. That process is more therapeutic and enjoyable to you than for anyone who may see them. It’s the best kind of walk down memory lane, without actually being there. The fun will be multiplied if you get together with whoever you spend some of your vacation with and share photos together!

•          Go back to a new year. Remember the resolutions you DIDN'T manage to keep? Start again. People don’t need new years or months to get started on new goals, the just need a fresh state of mind -- the feeling of having accomplished something so that they may come back for more. Now that the week is over and midterms may have crashed upon many of us, make the time more optimistic for yourself by focusing on the positive changes you want to bring in your life.

•              CLEAN. Every time I decide to unpack a suitcase (which is actually way more often than I realized), I am also hit with the truth about how messy/unorganized my room is. Start the new month and the second half of this semester by de-cluttering your life. You may have done just that during reading week, but most of us aren’t that ninja productive despite the fact that we can be. Now is the chance. The euphoria of having finished a dreaded task will most definitely offset the post-holiday blues.

•        START PLANNING YOUR SUMMER. IF you are coming back for courses, you have a week in between to live it up. If you aren’t, you have fpir months at your disposal. Whether you chose to work, volunteer, sleep the time away, travel, get hitched, graduate, and prepare for grad school. It doesn’t matter; the official year will be coming to an end in just five weeks. There is so much NEW to look forward to. There’s money to save, and treadmills to run on (summer means NO lumpy coats to cover up every food baby ) and websites to bookmark.

Everybody will have spent their reading week differently, well except the * cough cough SCSU*. Everybody can continue that vacation however they please. It’s time to embrace the exam time and own the semester. Maybe you can go out with a bang ?!

Cheers