When I was yoouner I used to hate the fact that my birthday ..

When I was yoouner I used to hate the fact that my birthday was in October. Here in Canada, the month of October is synonym with the end of summer, for me at least. It means that the cold is coming very soon. It means the days are getting shorter, it means spending less time outside, it means the cold air will soon hurt our faces. Winters have always been rough for me. For years now I’ve been struggling with seasonal depression and whenever the cold season approaches, I get scared that I’ll dive back into a bad place. For some reason I have difficulty to adapt to the change of seasons. I see my friends less, I stay inside more, I’m less active, I stop doing things I enjoy. And the fact that my birthday is at the start of October for some reason was a painful reminder that for the next six months, life is about to get a lot harder. Weird thing, the brain. This year, I want things to be different. I want my birthday to be associated with positive feelings. In the end, I’m grateful to be here, healthy, surrounded by people who I love and who love me back. I want to disassociate the negative feelings surrounding the fact that winter’s coming. I have a plan and I’m excited to try it! It starts with a place to live. My own place! I still can’t believe it. This winter I’m going to be a lot more physically active. I’m going to set challenges for myself, wake up early to get the best out of the sun and go to bed earlier. Winter should not be synonym of isolation and depression. And my birthday should not be associated with the end of the best time of the year, you know? I think becoming truly independent, taking responsibility for the way I’m feeling and being in better control of my environment will help me a lot. Actually, I’m truly excited for the next few months for the first time in many years.