Fake it ’till Ya Make It

Welcome back to mayhem. For me, the winter break has been one of rest and relaxation, balanced with an above average daily intake of food. While my mind is somewhat ready to get back to classes, my body is not exactly co-operating. There may be some kind of sub-conscious biological operation at work.

In the next few weeks I will need to muster some motivation to get my body to class. I would much rather be feasting and napping...the combined content of my winter break. Instead of looking for cheap texts online, I find that I have inadvertently  typed in the address for discounted Caribbean travel. I'm dreaming of escape and I haven't even attended my first class of the term. So what's a vitamin D starved student to do? Well I could take to daily tanning sessions. I could spend my reserved text book fund on a cheap cruise to Roatan. I could take a nap instead of going to class tonight. I know I won't actually do any of these things. I'm far too predictable for that, but I can do some things to get my head and my body back in the school game. I have found that the ritual of clearing out last terms binders can be inspirational (sorry if you take e-notes this exercise looses some of its tactile satisfaction). I enjoy dumping binders of old notes into old boxes. It's liberating and as soon as they're empty and have been refilled with gleaming white rule, I get the urge to write on the pristine pages. This urge is comparable with the need to walk on a lawn of freshly fallen snow. If anything newly emptied binders make me want to take extensive notes. This is also the time of year that I like to empty out my backpack, particularly the little pockets that I can barely get my hand in. I always end up finding school supplies, that over the course of last term, I had completely forgot purchasing. Just today I found one of those white out pens and a pack of paper band-aids. If you're lucky you might also find some lost TTC tokens, a few twoonies, or twelve packs of gum. I'm not saying that these little rituals will get you to class this week, but they might ignite that back-to-school feeling. You know the one, you used to get it when you were ten and you got your new lunch pail and trapper keeper. As much as you and I might be less than eager to resume classes, you have to admit that having all your school gear in order helps to ease the pain. You wouldn't feel very motivated to go for a 5K run in jeans and a leather jacket, but if you have all the proper running attire you could at least fake it for a couple of blocks. Whatever gets my over-stuffed body back into that uncomfortable lecture hall seat is good enough for me. Even if I'm faking it for the first few days...if you pretend for long enough, it becomes your reality. I wish you all a painless first week back! -Lori