TwoCents | A CASE FOR JANUARY.

The hype of December is the very sponsor of the dread of January. But upon closer examination, January is such an underrated darling. I mean, with the noise of celebration now safely behind us, you'd have to admit, there's a calmness about the pace of life; the tension and pressure now a ship swallowed in the distant horizon. Many are making the slow return from their cloud nine trip back to reality, to the here and now. Words floated in hushed whisperings that January would reign without mercy, dishing out consequences of a squandered December. Those who foresaw time, predicted that January would stretch out like many months compressed in one. They expected hunger, cases of protracted emptiness of pockets and accounts. The 9-5ers who earn their keep from salaries count the days that lead up to the blissful arrival of the end of the month. As each day passes by, they are consoled and even motivated to hang in there. Slowly but surely, slowly but surely. Those who have embraced the risk-riddled world of entrepreneurship take deep sighs as they reminisce the days when sales came in quick successions. They blame January and exonerate December. January has to be the least loved of months. But it is, in all candour, the captain of the others in its trail. In a calm command, it directs the year and others only but respond, 'aye'. For all the assumptions drenched in error about January, I erect a case for the month of months. For some, it is a descent that feels like a hangover from a night of wild partying, but January is a subtle crescendo, somewhat a slow swelling of goals to full maturity. It is the consistency of January that partly guarantees a continuance of the journey to a blissful realization of desires. As if they can't wait for January to fade away, online vendors begin to fan the flames of a far-away Valentine's Day. Everything starts wearing red again; this time, it is not of a Christmas kind. And just like that, the idyllic ambience, a gift offering from January begins to give way as people craft for themselves a fresh means of disturbance. The pressure on relationships to look perfect starts heating up and boiling point draws near. Right before our very eyes, we see January ambushed by the preparation for Valentine's Day. It makes it feel as if February began somewhere in January, making the 28 days as we have always known it to be, a sham.

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