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Under the Weather

Summer Inspired

By Karlea APublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Under the weather. What does that mean? Google will tell you it means, “slightly unwell,” or, “low in spirits.” Everyone feels “under the weather” on occasion. I feel it most when the weather itself isn’t nice. I feel it in the winter when the cold gets under my skin, and my hair gets brittle. I feel it when the days are short and dark and I can’t pull myself out of bed. “But winter isn’t all that bad!” Well, I guess I can agree.

Winter is cozy. The weather is perfect for staying indoors, wrapping your hands around your favourite mug, and sipping on hot chocolate. You can curl up with some blankets or a special someone and just relax. You wear cute sweaters, leggings, and boots, and feel less guilty for the Netflix binges. What else is there to do when it’s 40 below? And then there’s Christmas and New Years… The holiday season is so cheerful, fun, and inspiring. You’re surrounded by friends and family, making memories and reliving traditions.

Winter is cozy—for the first month or two. But when you live in Canada, the next 4-5 months of winter can be a little… much. The start of the new year is usually when I tire of winter. I get tired of burning my tongue on hot chocolate. Idling my car for ten minutes each morning is awful for the environment and my wallet. Sometimes my car doesn’t even start in the cold. I can barely start in the cold! Intense self-motivation goes into putting my bare feet onto the icy floor each morning. The days are short—you go to work in the dark, just to come home eight hours later… in the dark. It’s discouraging, really.

The dreaded winter season really tests my mental health. As I said, it’s not all awful—just the first months into the New Year. But there’s just something about summer that drags me right out of the rut I got myself into. The higher temperatures warm me not only on the outside, but on the inside, too. The longer days give me a sense of productivity, because when I get home from work there is still so much that can get done. It’s no wonder this season brings such a hopeful vibe. With good vibes come inspiring goals.

Every year around June, I see the same quote circling Instagram, Facebook, and VSCO. It reads: “My goal this summer is to just fall back in love with myself and the world and life again.”

Every year, someone decides, “it’s time to snap out of this and let the sunlight in,” and shares it to remind everyone else that they can start to feel better now, too.

I’ve liked/shared/republished this quote for years now. This quote is a perfect reminder to snap out of it and let the sunlight in. You deserve to love yourself. You deserve to love yourself all year round. I know it’s not easy when you feel like the elements are bringing you down. It isn’t easy when you feel unproductive, cold, and cranky. But that’s just something everyone can work on.

There is one key word in this quote that really gets me: again. Think about that for a second. AGAIN. This quote is a perfect example of our resilience as human beings. If the same thing keeps getting us down again and again, we are still capable of picking ourselves up. At times, it does seem hopeless; I will admit that. But each and every year without fail, I start to see motivational, uplifting, and optimistic quotes about the summer months. Each year, we want to have a better summer than the last. Each year, we pick ourselves up, and we fall back in love with ourselves and the world and life… again.

I love this quote, because it’s motivation to pick oneself up after falling. Winter has kicked your ass, but so what? You are going to be fine. You are going to sit in the sun, drink something fruity, and go for a swim. You’ll have a bonfire, laugh, and sing with your friends. You will camp out under the stars and think about how incredible it is to exist in this universe. No matter how long, cold, or awful the winter was, you will be just fine. You will fall back in love with yourself and the world and life again.

self help
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About the Creator

Karlea A

I am 18 years old, from Saskatchewan, Canada. I enjoy volunteering, writing, concerts, and friend-gatherings 😊

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