The longest month

According to the calendar, February is the shortest month of the year with only 28 days (29 in a leap year). However, with a combination of bad weather, lack of entertainment and knowing how close we are to warmer weather, February seems like the longest month of the year.

February is one of the worst weather months of the year. During the second month of the year, folks in the North and Midwest regions get bombarded with heavy snowstorms and bone-chilling cold temperatures. Record-setting snowfall and bitter temperatures have plagued these two regions for the past two winters.

But it seems to reach another level during the month of February. We spend most of our days shoveling snow to make pathways to our houses or cars. We have to layer up every time we go outside so we don’t get frostbite. A huge snowstorm will come and blanket the ground with a fresh coat of snow, and after we’re all done moving the snow, another huge snowstorm will leave even more. It gets so cold that we can’t go outside on even the nicest of days because of the freezing temperature. People hate being confined to their houses, and it seems like they are confined for an entire month. This leads to many people becoming sad and depressed.

Another thing about the month of February is that not much happens. The first Sunday of the month is Super Bowl Sunday, but after that, there isn’t much happening. Only a bunch of boring regular season NHL and NBA games make up the weeknight entertainment. And don't even mention the NBA All-Star weekend, which just gets more boring every year. There are some award shows, like the Grammys and the Oscars. However, those are televised Sunday nights and run late, meaning many people get tired and tune out.

One more reason why February seems longer is all the stuff that starts in the month of March. The weather starts to get nicer and the snow starts to melt. People are finally able to go outside and start doing normal activities. MLB spring training and March Madness begin. Another event that happens in March is spring break. With all of these events happening in March, the anticipation for them begins in February. The heavy workload the week before break combined with the anticipation to go on break is almost too much to handle for some students. When you’re waiting to do something you are really looking forward to, the wait seems even longer.

The calendar says there are only 28 days in the month of February, but the month itself seems to hint otherwise.