By the time these words are printed, Groundhog Day will have come and gone. We now know our fate as decided by the famous rodent who resides back in my home state, Pennsylvania: either an early spring or another six more weeks of a bitter winter that keeps us indoors. 

Fingers crossed Mr. Punxatawney Phil has trouble finding his shadow. 

The day’s arrival made me think of the movie that’s perhaps more famous than the holiday itself, Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray, who plays a weatherman who is stuck reliving the less than glamorous holiday over and over again. “It’s Groundhog Day,” the alarm proclaims each day. There’s some lesson in the end about living like there’s no tomorrow or something of the sort.

I remember in the beginning of COVID-19, when most people were staying in their homes or leaving only to go to work, and Facebook friends were comparing the situation to Murray’s in the movie with memes, except that everyday was quarantine day instead of Groundhog Day. I felt that, too. Each and every day I’d wake up in my childhood bedroom, come downstairs to sit through online college courses at the dining room with my mom while she worked. Eat lunch. Probably go for a run or a walk. Eat dinner. Watch television. Commiserate with friends. Repeat. 

And now, it’s the actual Groundhog Day, and though I’ve since moved and have a job now instead of classes, I’m still having that Groundhog Day effect.

Wake up. Eat breakfast. Go to work. Eat dinner. Sit around. Repeat. The same routine each day with little variation. 

I used to be fun, I swear! What a sad sentence for a 22 year old to write. As we creep toward the one year mark of this unthinkable world event knocking us to the ground, I can’t help but wonder how much more time we’ll live like this. Masks, bingeable tv shows, events that will occupy chapters of history textbooks are stealing my 20s. 

When I’m feeling down, I think about this fact a lot. I’m sure others feel similarly, age aside, that this year could’ve been so different for them. Down the rabbithole of negativity we go.

But, remembering that it’s Groundhog Day and inevitably thinking back to the film that is its namesake, I ponder the point of its plot. 

With most movies, especially those of the 1990s, there’s a lesson to be learned. As I mentioned above, the point is to live like theres no tomorrow. And Murray’s character comes in as a jerk and goes out as a changed man, less cynical and more content with his comfortable life.

It’s all very cheesy and predictable, but in our collective situation, it’s worth exploring. As I’m coming to terms with, there are elements of our lives we cannot control, i.e. the pandemic and all its glories, but there are those that we can control, including our attitudes and how we react to the situations we find ourselves in. 

If you’re working from home now, there’s an opportunity to get some house work done throughout your day. Then, at night you can fully relax and unwind. If you’re spending time in your home, you can pick up a new hobby you’ve been putting off because you have no time: knitting, embroidery, painting, reading, learning a new language, whatever it is you’ve always wanted to do. One advantage to this past year has been reconnecting with people you haven’t spoken with in awhile. Let’s face it, the “I’m busy” excuse is going extinct, for better or worse.

I’m making a conscious effort to spend at least some time away from my screens, and it’s difficult but makes me feel better at the end of the day.

In Groundhog Day, Murray’s character makes the most of his newfound optimism through eating a lot of desserts and taking risks. Some of these risks, like driving on train tracks, aren’t recommended, but eating desserts and telling someone you love them are safe enough. 

We should still be safe as case counts continue to increase little by little and a new, more contagious variant of the virus enters our midst, but there are ways we can take our lives back and enjoy ourselves a bit more.

Hopefully, we can do this after the groundhog was unable to see his shadow, meaning better weather is on the way. He owes us.