The winter months can be hard. The frigid cold, icy roads and overall lack of color can really deplete motivation and bring your mood down. It’s important, especially at the beginning of the semester, to find ways to increase happiness and motivation until the beautiful spring days arrive. Here is a shortlist of some activities that can help beat the winter blues with an added feature of an exciting club on campus:

HU climbing club:

Clubs are a great way to meet new people and get your mind out of school work. While there are many clubs on campus, the HU climbing club is a specific way to get your body moving and to meet new friends. Grace Pierson, the president of the HU climbing club and the vice president, Josh Lynch started the club as a way to find more friends to climb with. The club has since grown and they now  host weekly events for students to climb.

“Our main goal is to make climbing accessible to any Hamline student, and to make an inviting community for people who’ve climbed their whole life, never climbed at all, or anywhere in between,” Lynch said. “We go to the Twin Cities bouldering on Thursdays at 6:00 p.m., and St. Paul vertical endeavors on Sundays at 2:00 p.m..”

They also have climbing events that they put on.

“In January we had a guided ice climbing event in Sandstone, MN and we hope to do that more next year,” Lynch said.

If you’re interested in joining the climbing club, you can email huclimbingclub@hamlineedu or by messaging them on Instagram @hu_climbing_club.

If rock climbing or other winter sports are not your cup of tea, there are also many other ways to charge your battery and find the bright side to winter.

Get Creative:

It can be hard to channel your creativity during the winter months, but this is a crucial time to do so. I have been forced to get creative during my creative writing class and have enjoyed every second! Get intentional with your time and set aside even just 20 minutes to do something you enjoy that lets you channel your creativity. Whether it be listening to music, painting, writing, or talking with a friend about a movie you both love, all these activities can help alleviate some of the dreaded winter blues.

Visit a Museum:

Speaking of creativity, look at others’ art! The Minnesota Institute of Art is free and great for college students. The Twin Cities area has a lot of museums, though. Not all of them are free but many have discounts for students. It is a great way to get off campus and learn something new and maybe even get inspired by something you see.

Buy some flowers:

Spring may seem far because of the endless white snow outside, but you can bring spring inside. Buying flowers and adding a pop of color to your living space can increase your mood and make spring feel even closer. Spring is my favorite season, so incorporating pastel colors and flowers increase my happiness greatly. Buying flowers for a friend is another way to connect and add a pop of happiness to someone else’s life as well.

Seasonal depression is a scary, isolating, and lonely problem that many people face. While there are things to do to fight the winter blues, Hamline’s Counseling and Health Services is here to help you. They can be reached by phone at (651)-523-2204.