OK, I take it back - January is blue after all. My years of being the month's PR person, being a January baby and all that, may have reached their retirement due to the - what can only be described as - shit start to the year. As someone who likes to be busy and plans on milking every last drop they can out of my life, who likes to have plans, be with friends, dress up, see new places and try new things, I'm having a hard time liking this 'little life' that January has to offer. While I find such joy in the everyday comforts like cooking, reading and being with pets, without any bigger plans I find myself craving so much more.
One of the things nobody talks about when you get to do beautiful and exciting things is the 'come down' that you're faced with afterwards. Just like a drug, or a bad hangover. I hosted a big Taylor Swift themed birthday party last week as I turned 22 and then of course, my actual birthday followed and then... just like any big moment in your life, there was the aftermath. As prissy and privileged as it sounds, when I came back home from being lucky enough to travel Thailand for a month - I was so down about the reality of my life. It’s an odd feeling, when you have some of the best days of your life and then you just carry on with what feels like the meaningless, average ones. But that's where I'm wrong. None of it is meaningless.
Your entire life is made up of these days and so the goal is to make the 'everyday' days in between all of the incredible days, something that comforts you, gives you peace and if you're lucky enough, brings you a true- but quiet - happiness. These tiny rituals you create for yourself are so vital to who you are and will become. The coffees you make for yourself, the good food, the exercise, the books, the tv shows, the cuddles in bed, the small new hobbies, and while they may be minor things that we deem insignificant, they are in fact everything. Did you learn nothing from 'It's a Wonderful Life'?
So, my advice would be if, like me, you're also feeling the January blues, to try your best to use this dark and cold time as a recuperation period before life swoops you back up again. Take comfort in the fact that living doesn't always have to be in the fast lane to be worthwhile. Set habits now that could stick. Learn to enjoy the 'everyday' days because they are just as important as all of the others. Realise that it doesn't have to be blue, it can be a kaleidoscope of colours because you are the one holding the paintbrush.