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This month has been all about joy at U of T, but if you haven’t been feeling the love or haven’t seen the spreading of joy, then check out the #JoyAtUofT hashtag on twitter to get in-the-know, and to find some more reasons to smile…after all, February is chilly enough and sometimes a little “winter blues-y” enough already, so finding reasons to have joy, love, and feel good is never bad thing!

It’s easy to fall into the winter blues trap, to feel the pressures of school, family, work, and love lives piling up, and to lose sight of the things that bring us joy. From having 40+ libraries to choose from, to dramafest, to intramurals, to something as simple as taking a stroll down philosopher’s walk, there’s a lot of little, everyday things that have been lightening the February load of U of T students this past month, so this week we’d like to bring some of that to you.

I recently read a story about a woman whose friend invited her to drive to the dentist’s office with her; the woman said the dentist was 15 minutes away but that it took 45 minutes to get there. When asked why there was a time discrepancy, she replied, “Oh, I always take the scenic route.” I love this, I love that every journey can be treated as an opportunity for fun, for adventure, and for magic. I love that the most mundane of tasks can bring with them the possibility of newness, and yes, of joy. After reading this story, I began to wonder if there were more everyday tasks in my life that I could apply the “scenic route recipe” to, and what would happen if I did?

So, I tried it out. I discovered that I had an extra hour to spare in between my placement and work one afternoon this week, and decided to “take the scenic route”, so to speak. Part of my detour did indeed include a walk, which took me past Casa Loma and gave me some time to admire it in the snow and in detail, but part of the detour included stopping at a café to sit and have a tea quietly. As far as taking the scenic route goes, this was a pretty small foray into the idea, but it did show me what adding in those moments for small joys can do; that day, I arrived at work a little less frazzled, a lot less rushed, and a little happier than usual for having seen something beautiful, and for having had that quiet time to myself.

Even though February is dedicated to the joy hashtag at U of T, we’d like to encourage you to find the joy in the everyday throughout the rest of the year, and to find a reason to smile even when you don’t feel like it, perhaps especially when you don’t feel like it. So this week, see where your scenic route can take you, you might just find some joy.