We’re stuck in the middle of February, and this Missouri weather is, once again, toying with our emotions. At this point in the year, everyone just wants spring to come as fast as possible, regardless of what that groundhog said or saw.
Sadly, being the cold, hard bitch she is, Missouri most likely won’t provide us with a streak of perfect temperatures for a while. But that doesn’t mean that spring giddiness can’t be infused into even the darkest of days. MOVE has a few suggestions to give yourself the morale boost you need until the weather makes up its damn mind.
**Pump up the jams** — Summer jams, that is. Choose upbeat music to blare in your bedroom this month, preferably the kind that makes you want to dance. And don’t be afraid to play that awesome R&B from the early 2000s that everyone pretends they’re too cool to listen to.
Be forewarned, though, we aren’t responsible for the embarrassment you’ll bring upon yourself while walking around campus with headphones when you accidentally bust a move to Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me.”
**Put some chlorine in your life** — Who doesn’t love those summer days when you can stretch out by the pool and just _feel_ the chlorine drying out your skin? Lucky for us, we go to a university with a state-of-the-art rec center. Get your butts over there and spend an hour or two in the Tiger Grotto. The waterfall, palm trees and overdose on possible water activities will improve your mood in no time.
**Waste some cash on a new swimsuit** — OK, so this one’s probably a little girly — but still. Regardless of whether you have a hot spring break planned or you’re just staying in Columbia, everyone gets excited about a new bikini. Plus, you’ll have another excuse to hit up the Grotto.
**Get in those eight hours, people** — At this point, the suggestion to get enough sleep is a little overly exhausted (pun intended). But there really is something to be said for catching up on those Z’s. Spend a night in, get your homework done and go to bed early. Wake up in the morning with enough time to eat breakfast and make yourself look nice before class, and play those summer jams while you do it.
You’ll start your day off in a good mood, not worrying about unfinished assignments or seeing that sexy sophomore on campus while you’re wearing an embarrassing T-shirt from high school.
**Watch a good flick** — If you follow our previous suggestion and finish homework on time, you might have some free time in your day to veg out and watch a movie. We recommend “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” The gorgeous scenery in this movie will make you forget about the finicky temperatures outside, at least for a while. Plus, you get to watch Jason Segel, Russell Brand and Mila Kunis in the same movie, and that in itself is a recipe for a memorable few hours.
If the above ideas don’t work to bring you out of your winter funk, we have one last attempt to prepare you for warmer weather — if not actually making you feel like it’s already here:
First, go to Google Images. Type in “Beyoncé Super Bowl outfit.” Allow yourself to jealously stare for thirty seconds, and then go to the gym and run. Hard. Because if you can somehow look like that by the time warmer temperatures arrive, you will undoubtedly have a better summer than the rest of us mortals.