January, February, and March are notoriously the most treacherous months of the winter season, especially when having to wake up early in the dark morning to travel to school. Wayne Hills High School Students have to battle winter depression and endure the cold, all while maintaining good grades. So how do they handle it?

While December brings in the happy holiday season, it can be hard for students to maintain motivation during the cold and dark hours of winter. Students who participate in winter sports arrive and leave the school when it is pitch black outside. Plus, marking period three causes students to stress about maintaining a good grade average before the summer rolls around. Keeping a happy mental health can be very hard when the gloomy weather takes over Wayne Hills.

The mornings start off incredibly dark, which can make it hard not to sleep in late. Junior Deanna Asmar shared, “It is hard to get out of my warm bed early in the morning since I know it is so cold and dark outside.” Lack of motivation is definitely a significant problem in the winter since the weather affects the moods of students.

Junior Lucia Nesbitt agrees that the gloomy weather affects her mood, as she shared with me, “There is no sun to keep me happy.” Already being in a bad mood can cause students to feel more stressed about school as well. Lucia also said, “SAT prep is very stressful and the weather makes my mood even worse while studying.”

While the winter season can be hard, that doesn’t mean it is impossible to get through. Junior Laiza Pelez shared how she finds motivation during the hard winter season, “I try to make time for myself and not distract myself with things that aren’t beneficial.” It is easy to fall asleep or scroll endlessly on your phone when it feels like negative temperatures outside, but finding light among the darkness can definitely help students find things to look forward to!

School can be stressful, but we can also choose to use upcoming events as motivators. For juniors, formal is right around the corner in March and seniors have their fashion show to look forward to. Spring isn’t too far away, as Groundhog Day has determined spring is coming early this year! What keeps me going is counting down the days until I can be back at the beach. For anyone looking for motivation to get through the gloomy days, know that there are only 134 days until summer!