Students should appreciate life, fight back against seasonal woes

It can be hard to find happiness in a world that can be frigid and selfish. I find that most people are looking out for themselves, aiming to succeed and not afraid to do what they can to make it to the top. While I celebrate motivation and drive toward the working world, I've witnessed love and care take a backseat as stress and irritability take over in full swing.  Whenever I feel down and uninspired I turn to friends and family for a quick fix of giggles and warmth but it seems that as of late a sadness  is evident and has even spread throughout campus.

Well, students, you've made it past finals of the fall semester and now that the joys of the holidays with friends and family are over, the spring semester comes equipped with assigned readings, essays and quizzes to completely blindside us all. To cope with the new responsibilities, even for myself, has been frequent naps, time spent alone and frowns masking the stress of being back in school and the search for internships (yikes).

Now more than ever, I believe in the suffering of a seasonal depression.  According to a report released by the New York Times Health Guide, seasonal affective disorder is characterized by annual episodes of depression during fall or winter that improve in the spring or summer.  Trading couch and television time for class time is a harrowing sacrifice but it is possible to re-emerge and come out of the dark and hopeless forest. In retrospect, college is only a short time where we have the opportunities before us as living with six close and awesome friends in a spacious downtown apartment, having minimal responsibilities and spending most time hunting night clubs for members of the opposite sex. Be grateful for the life you have been allotted now and privileges in front of you. In order to kick seasonal depression good bye I encourage you to strive to increase the dopamine levels in your brain. Psychology Today magazine explains that dopamine is responsible for the reward and pleasure center of the brain. Dopamine also helps regulate movement and emotional responses, and it enables us not only to see rewards, but to take action to move toward them. I encourage you to create little grants for yourself and see the improvements in your attitude once you break free of negativity and watch as the spring semester flies by.

In order to live freely and "keep calm and study on" (props to USG), try something new and give your brain an extra dose of dopamine. Sign up for a kickboxing class or spinning. Trigger your brain and try a new recipe for dinner with friends. Chant helpful mantras when you're feeling down and remember that it all gets better. Here are a few things I try to remember when the school going gets tough, my things to be grateful for: warm coffee mugs, when someone offers you the rest of their meal, a baby's laughter, when someone holds open the door for you and when the sun eventually comes out.  Smile and be grateful because you have no idea who you have the chance to inspire with a positive attitude.

"There is no duty we so much underrate the duty of being happy." – Robert Louis Stevenson