I’ve stumbled upon the dark ages.

Each day has become a drag, every action is a chore, and each week becomes more trying on my seemingly worn soul.

I somehow manage to hit this wall every year. I see it coming– I know it’s coming, yet without fail, I always smack right into it.

It comes quickly– within one night. The “fall back” seems fun and all– we do gain an extra hour of sleep, which at this point in the semester is like a check for a million dollars. It’s all fun and games until it’s 6 p.m., and it feels like midnight.

It throws me off my game. Suddenly the darkness creeps up onto my alertness, feeding off of my energy supply to make itself stronger. Although I’m normally able to make it to 11 p.m. with no signs of exhaustion, all of a sudden it’s eight, and I cannot keep my eyes open.

To top off the confusing (and frankly, quite annoying) sleep-wake cycle, this time of year is always met with copious amounts of sorrow.

Not to sound melancholy, but this time of year is miserable. Being tired and despondent is straining enough when it’s sunny and warm outside, but throwing in the cold air and gloomy skies is a recipe for disaster. A lack of vitamin D never creates anything productive; in fact, the universe is practically begging for me to be miserable.

But it’s not just me.

There are weeks where it seems as if everyone is in an eternal bad mood– and it’s all to blame on the horrible atmosphere. 1300 high schoolers are all especially exhausted, especially moody, and especially miserable; it’s not a coincidence.

The worst thing about this epidemic of horrendous feelings is that there’s nothing that can be done to cure it.

We live in Michigan; it gets cold, dark, and grey. There’s nothing we can do about it. Most of us are going to hit a wall. A wall that, while we know it’s there, doesn’t get easier to hit.

School gets harder, the air gets colder, and the skies get darker; none of these factors make life any easier. Most of us hit the wall at some point and there’s no way around it.

All we can do is try to make it over with only a few bumps and bruises.