Celebrate January!
Written by Brianne Benelli, Perfection Events
January. It isn’t Black History Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, or Movember. Rarely will one ever exclaim “It’s (Inter)National Something Month!” in January, and it’s biggest holiday isn’t even celebrated for more than a few hours into its very first day. Poor January.
That ends now! According to Wikipedia, the sometimes unreliable resource to every bit of information you ever imagined you’d need, January is National A Lot Of Things Month, and that makes us happy so we won’t challenge it! Here’s the list:
- National Volunteer Blood Donor Month
- Cervical Cancer Awareness Month
- National Glaucoma Awareness Month
- Thyroid Awareness Month
- Financial Wellness Month
- National Mentoring Month
- National Poverty in America-Awareness Month
- National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month
- National Hug Day
Thank you very much, Wikipedia, for your enthusiasm, but that last one doesn’t really fit. That’s okay though, we like it.
So let’s take this list to heart! Go out and sign up for defense classes in honor of National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month and learn to roundhouse would-be attackers with proficiency! Go donate blood, and don’t let the cruel finger prick (which they administer before the questions to disqualify you which I, for one, take much exception to) deter you because it’s National Volunteer Blood Donor Month! You can get a donor card and everything; make it a habit. After both of those, you’ll probably be running short on time so for the sake of efficiency, let’s combine Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, National Glaucoma Month, and Thyroid Awareness Month all with National Hug Day (and since it was placed under the month category I say we call every January day National Hug Day). Stop by to see your favorite doctor and make sure your cervix, eyes, and thyroids are all healthy, and don’t forget to hug your doctor! We can also combine Financial Wellness Month with National Poverty in America-Awareness Month. Build a house with Habitat for Humanity! Roll your spare change over to Goodwill!
In all seriousness though, all of those things are important. Self-defense is easily ignored until the awful occasion that makes you really wish you hadn’t. Check colleges for free RAD classes and, if you’re really intense, check out Krav Maga, a practice that’s getting rave reviews from women all over. Blood donation is the easiest thing to do and makes a huge difference to the person who ends up needing it. Stop by a blood drive or draw center, and bring your kids with you—good habits start early. All my joking aside, a few years ago my best friend took a, thankfully brief, spin with cervical cancer. It wasn’t fun for her or me. No matter what ailment it is, get yourself screened and prevent any chances; it’s a thousand times better than dealing with the fallout of discovering it too late. As for financial wellness and poverty awareness, I think we’re all aware of finances and poverty to a point and don’t need any reminding; I also think, however, that we sometimes get so caught up in our own financial troubles it’s easy to forget that there are people who have it much much worse. This month, remember.
January can be such a fulfilling and satisfying month! Take it for all it’s worth, embrace it, make January a truly nationally commemorated month, and take as much away from January in satisfaction, as you’ve given to other people through your efforts. Happy January, Everyone!
