A colleague of mine mentioned the other day that the way you can spot someone who has lived in Chicago for four or more years is to look for the person that is wearing just a sweater in March and April. Let me be very clear, it is still cold enough to justify a large, heavy winter coat. But there is something about the idea of Spring that still makes me wake up every day and consider throwing on a short sleeve dress and sandals.

Today is Easter and it is below freezing outside, yet all around the area people are braving the weather to wear Easter dresses. We all know that it will stay cold until May here, but we all still have spring fever.

For me spring fever is about anticipation. We are anticipating the warmer weather and good times that come along. But there are several other things that I am anticipating in my life currently. I move in two weeks to a much better apartment in my neighborhood. I have known for a month that I will be moving, and every day I come home from work and anticipate moving. It’s like I have a mental block until I can satisfy this anticipation.

We all experience periods in our life where we have spring fever of some sort. We are waiting on a promotion or acceptance letter or impending graduation. On a smaller level, we might be waiting on smaller instances that still seem to put a pause on the other things in our life. What we have to do is learn how to not let these occurrences of spring fever put the rest of our lives on hold.

Enjoy the anticipation of exciting or important upcoming events but remember that you can’t ignore what is happening in the present. For students that are coming up on a graduation, remember that you need to finish your year off strong. Although you want to push fast forward on your life, you have to take each moment one at a time. Live in the present and remember that it is exciting to anticipate something, but you still have to take everything one step at a time.

-          Bria