5 Easy Ways to Stay Happy, Healthy, and Warm at Penn this Winter

Author:  Mari Meyer, GSE ’12

The holiday break is over, and if yours was anything like mine, your pores are still oozing with the smell of oil and onion from your mom’s famous latkes:

My mom always says that a little blood, sweat and tears make the difference between a good latke and a great latke.

The post-holiday and new year months are always the hardest. Despite all of your resolutions and plans for staying active; despite the surplus of new gloves and socks and all those cute recycled gift bags that just beg to be made into a scrapbook collage of holiday memory cheer; despite all of your best efforts to reboot your routine and productivity now that the smorgasbord of family gatherings and dessert buffets have quieted down: the chance that you will still want to revert into winter hibernation mode and “power off” for the next three months is almost inevitable.

The family couch after one of my mom’s famous holiday meals.

But we’re on a college campus—one of the greatest in the world, no less—and in the spirit of studenthood I commit this year to dragging myself out of my post-holiday slump and radiator-overheated bear cave to take advantage of the infinite opportunities, activities, and events happening at Penn even in the dreariest of winter months.

With that in mind, here is a list of the top 5 ways to have a happy, healthy, and warm winter at Penn this year.

1. Aqua Zumba classes at the Penn Rec Center. Who said you have to be in Boca Raton for some good, ol’ fashioned water aerobics? Check out all of Pottruck’s other body-heating offerings by clicking here!
2. Seeing RUBBERBANDance Group unite hip hop and ballet at Annenberg this weekend, or at least one of the many phenomenal performances and concerts happening weekly throughout the year.
3. Becoming more mindful through meditation and other community health programming at the Penn Program for Mindfulness.
4. De-stressing through the “Stitch Therapy” group at the Penn Women’s Center (open to all).  Sure, I don’t know how to knit, crochet, or sew, but nonetheless, it’s a great opportunity to meet new people.
5. Get involved in a writing group at the Kelly Writer’s House. Also, did you know that they offer an online book club for Penn alumni and their families?

So much to choose from, and you may not even have to leave your house for it!