ssues & ideas EDITOR AMY JONES THE VOICE, THURSDAY, JANURARY 30, 2014 7 Feeling the January blues? Langara counselor has a prescription for students’ winter doldrums By KARLY BLATS ith the holiday season in our wake and little to look forward to, the winter blues may be weighing students down like their book-filled backpacks. Students are settling back into their academic routines, and the bulky workload can be draining. Back to the grind can mean long days with little daylight. Students may find themselves feel- ing down or depressed this time of year with a case of the winter blues. Waking up to darkness, spending most of the day in classrooms, many without win- dows, and returning home late can lead to an unhealthy cycle. Tim Charters, chair of Langara’s counselling department, said it’s nor- KARLY BLATS photo Langara students head to school in a dismal cloud of fog on Monday morning to spend hours inside classrooms, many with no windows. mal to feel down in the winter. “There’s even a diagnosis called seasonal affec- tive disorder,” he said. “Certainly, people don’t have to have a diagnosis to feel down in winter.” Charters emphasized the impor- tance of breaking your humdrum rou- tine and said that pushing yourself out of that negative cycle is essential to feel better. “Try to maintain some kind of phys- ical activity,” Charters said. “Eating healthy will have beneficial effects.” Mike Climie, business marketing student, said he beats the winter blues by “drinking and jamming with bud- dies.” Nursing student Desiree Bigornia said she hits the gym when it’s cold out. “The treadmills face outside, and it beats the winter blues,” she said. Wyatt Naylor, associated arts stu- dent, said he “plays video games, watches movies and reads” to pass the time. If you’re really missing the sun, Charters said there’s a lamp you can buy that replicates sunlight. “It can be helpful to spend a bit of time literally getting sunlight, and they’re brighter than the normal day light,” he said. The therapeutic lamps are called light boxes and can be bought at Wal- Mart or other drug stores. If yow’re feeling blue and need some- one to talk to, the counselling depart- ment is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays. The depart- ment is located in room B111, and there are plenty of counselors available to help. TIM CHARTERS Langara counsel- ling department 66 Try to maintain some kind of physical activity. Gallop toward Chinese New Year There’s something for everyone with all the Year of the Horse celebrations in Vancouver this weekend cua ASHLEY LEGASSIC photo Decorations are on sale at Aberdeen Centre, Richmond. By ASHLEY LEGASSIC dents! Chinese New Year is just around the corner and Vancouver is getting ready to celebrate. Before you put your party pants on there are a few things you need to know about one of China’s most impor- tant traditional holidays. Chinese New Year falls on this Fri- day, Jan. 31, and so begins the Year of the Horse. If you were born in 1979 or 1990, your luck will be maximized if you “wear red underpants or a red belt for the en- tire lunar year,” according to journal- ism student Edmond Lu. If you’re not born in the Year of the Horse, there are some things you can do to ensure you have all the luck you need. To make sure you don’t wash away potential wealth, the International Business Times suggests avoiding washing your hair for the first three days of the lunar year. The new year also calls for new things; it’s widely believed in Chinese culture that new things purchased in Hay Fat Choy, Langara stu- the beginning of the lunar year will bring about new beginnings. Now that your luck is set for the new year, it’s time to celebrate. Vancouver has many events for Chi- nese New Year to entertain its Chinese population of more than 402,000. Some of the most popular events go- ing on in the city include Richmond’s Aberdeen Centre’s Chinese New Year Flower & Gift Fair, running until Jan. 31; Vancouver’s Chinese New Year Pa- rade & Cultural Fair on Feb. 2 in China- town; and LunarFest from Feb. 8 - 9 at the Vancouver Art Gallery plaza. The Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver organized Vancou- ver’s first Chinese New Year Parade in 1974, and it has been running every year since. Although Vancouver has many cele- brations going on for the new year, some Vancouver residents such as Centina Lowe prefer to spend time at home with their families and eat a tra- ditional Chinese Dinner on New Year’s Eve. Chinese New Year is a time for fami- lies who are spread out all over the world to come back together to cele- brate. New Year's resolutions still trendy Resolutions that are over- ambitious and difficult to measure most likely to fail By MEGAN BOBETSIS popular tradition that many Lan- gara students take part in. Counsellor Tim Charters said mak- ing resolutions is a healthy part of hu- man nature. “Human beings in general have a de- sire to make positive changes in their lives and to move forward,” he said. Dietetics student Emily Falletta’s resolution is “no more Starbucks.” “It’s expensive and not healthy for you,” she said, adding that she has not broken her resolution yet. As to why people resort to Jan. 1 to set goals, Charters said it’s more of a “cultural idea,” and that humans place significance on dates, making New Year’s Day “hold a lot of psychological relevance.” Student Betty Chan said she didn’t bother making a resolution this year because she usually doesn’t end up fol- lowing through. Her resolution last year to eat better and work out lasted about two weeks. According to the Toronto Star, only 19 per cent of Canadians keep their resolutions the whole year. Over-ambitious resolutions and goals that aren’t measurable often fail, Charters said. “Behavioural change takes effort.” It’s important to stick to the SMART acronym when making a goal, Charters said. Goals should be specific, measur- able, action oriented, realistic and time related. Incorporating these key elements will increase a person’s chance of suc- cess, he said. Losing weight or becoming healthier are the most common resolutions, and Charters said it is easy to change those into a SMART goal. “A more appropriate goal would be ‘I want to make sure I eat three different kinds of vegetables every day,” he said. Charters said making New Year res- olutions has become a popular “cultur- ally accepted practice.” RESOLUTIONS What goals did you set? EMILY FALLETTA Student “No more Starbucks. It’s expensive and not healthy for you.” M aking New Year’s resolutions is a HENRY CHAU Student “Get into the busi- ness administration faculty.” MARIA AHMED Student “Be happier by listening to upbeat music and going out with friends.” COMPILED BY MEGAN BOBETSIS