With shorter days and cold, grey skies being a big part of the colder months, fighting the winter blues and staying active becomes a goal to achieve for some dedicated high school students.
Junior Moira Roche said being a part of the Bexley swim team has helped her keep a positive mindset through the winter ever since sixth grade.
Both the social and competitive aspects of being on the team have motivated her to be productive during this difficult time of the year, Roche explained. Roche added that a schedule to adhere to helps her start her day off productively, and she said that working out and is a nice transition into the school day.
“Being able to wake up early to go work out makes me feel really good about myself, and by the time school starts, I’m awake and ready to go,” she said.
Roche said she believes everyone should do some sort of activity during the winter in order to fight the winter blues even if it may be hard to get started.
“In the end, you will be thankful that you had spent your time being productive rather than being lazy on the couch,” she said.
Senior Max Clous explained his favorite activities during the winter include skiing and swimming in order to stay active but he also spends time with friends and family. He added that being able to ski with his family and friends on the weekends and swim with his teammates on weekdays has given him a good balance and has helped him stay social during the cold season.
Although Clous said that winter is definitely not his favorite season, skiing and swimming make this cold time of the year more enjoyable.
“I would rather be at a lake than a ski slope, but it’s all I have to work with for now,” Clous added.
Being active and having such a busy schedule helps his mental health because it keeps him occupied and allows him to build new memories with his friends, he added.
“Having practices for two hours every day along with spending as much time as I can skiing on weekends keeps me happy because I don’t have time to be lazy,” Clous added.
Junior Georgia Booth said she recently picked up reading as a hobby in order to stay positive and happy through the winter months.
Booth said she spends too much time using technology with the new hybrid schedule and that after a long day on the computer, being on her phone tends to stress her out.
“Reading is a good way for me to unwind from my day at school without spending even more time on my phone,” she added.
The lack of sunlight during the winter makes Booth more prone to feeling down, so for her, it is essential to find activities like reading in order to be more cheerful and positive, she added.
Booth said her favorite part of reading is being able to use it as an escape, especially with the pandemic going on, and that it helped her see new aspects on different subjects even if the book was a true story or not.
“It’s nice to observe someone else’s world even if it’s fiction or nonfiction,” Booth explained.
