It’s no secret that every month of the year has its own specialties to them. With months like June and July that stand out for summer break and months like October and December with fun holidays to celebrate and look forward to. While every month isn’t always exciting, every month on the ranks can beat January. January holds a weird place with it being the first month of the year and possibly the most awkward month of the year.

When December ends, it is always so upsetting. With the excitement of Hanukkah and Christmas and the coming of the New Year, it overall is an exciting month to be in. Especially while most people are enjoying their holiday break. Being able to see loved ones on your time off and during the holidays is always a great feeling since that is what the holidays are all about. Looking forward to the new year is very uplifting, with new plans of what you want the new year to bring you. But once it all is over, it just makes you think ‘what’s next?’. For some people winter break and the holidays can move very quickly, so once it passes and all of a sudden it’s January, everything seems so much gloomier.

Like I said, after holiday sadness is the worst, but after winter break sadness? Even worse. Another thing that makes January so disconnecting is just everyone being equally as tired. Having to go back to school with some new changes in classes can be uncomfortable, especially after you have stayed up till 3 AM and have no energy to even think about school. The most undesirable feeling is having a broken sleep schedule and not being able to fix it until a week after school has already started. 

If we had 3 weeks off of school, everything would be so much better and I probably would enjoy January more, but 2 weeks is just too little time especially after New Year. Listen, being able to have a fresh start with some new classes and a clean slate after finals is always a plus, but even though it is a fresh start it can be exhausting.

Let’s all be honest, snow is only acceptable when it is pretty, fluffy snow during the holiday season, but during January is when it just gets ugly. As most of the time, it’s 9 degrees with ice everywhere and slush snow everywhere. I’m not saying this does not happen in most of December, but at least December makes it feel better because you have holidays like Hanukkah and Christmas that make the snow semi-enjoyable. For example, making Snowmen during the holiday season is pure serotonin, but when you make one in January, the snowman just looks so sad. It could be that snowmen are associated with Christmas, but that is exactly my point. Without Christmas, snow, in general, would be so upsetting. Not even just in January but also February, when it snows then it just feels so awkward and out of place. 

January is one of those months where it just comes and goes and is forgettable. With everything considered and possibly even more reasons why it is the worst, we probably should take into account other months that are low on the list to really help this case on why January is the least favorable month. For example, February is one month where either you hate it or you don’t. For obvious reasons, February can be a dreaded month and just one that you choose to ignore, but heart-shaped things like the heart-shaped Portillo’s chocolate cake are so pretty that even if you hate the month, you can not ignore how pretty it really is.

March is another example of a low-listed month but it has its reasons on why it isn’t last. Yes, March isn’t the most exciting month but it does have some perks with spring break and St. Patrick’s day. St.Patrick’s day isn’t the most exciting holiday for everyone, but most of my core memories from preschool had to deal with fake leprechauns breaking into our classroom on that day so that made it semi-exciting. This could be a shared experience most people have from their younger years which can help prove the case of why it was a fun holiday when we were younger. Looking forward to spring break is always exciting, even if it’s later in the month. After spring break just jump starts the countdown to the end of the school year and is a fun and refreshing break to have. 

Although January is the worst month, it does have some perks to it. With January being the first month of the year, it opens up a door for more opportunities for many people. January definitely has the potential to go up the ranks for the best and worst months of the year.