Seasonal depression or mild Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is an issue I sometimes struggle with, and it has kicked in overdrive since starting school in D.C. Once the city falls back due to daylight savings, everything turns bleak. The sun sets earlier, and the temperature begins to drop. I used to dread the creeping transition between mid-fall and early winter.

While abroad, I have been having an issue with the fact that there aren't really seasons in India. Barring the rainy monsoon season that stems from August to early November, the weather is pretty much the same every single day. You generally expect highs reaching the 90s with humidity of fifty to sixty percent.

I almost feel like time is standing still. I miss being able to transition from shorts to sweaters. Spending Halloween and Thanksgiving here sweating while wearing shorts just felt so strange. It felt especially strange when I would get pictures of snow falling. Now, it is December and I still cannot walk down the street without sweat dripping down my forehead. I am not complaining that it is always sunny in India, but rather I have come to the realization that I need more variety.

From this, I have learned that I need to live somewhere where the seasons change. I want to be able to see leaves fall and shovel snow and fight off spring allergies (this one is typed with a little less enthusiasm, but nonetheless). I am so thrilled to fly back into New Jersey where the weather is quite literally all over the place. I also feel a little better about trudging through the bleak DC winter as long as I get to see the cherry blossoms come spring.