As many of you know, my birthday is right around the weekend corner: Sunday, February 27^th. The entire philosophy behind February seems to hold so much meaning in my life. It was named after the Latin word februum, which means purification. My explanation of choice hails from the Finnish version, whereby February is helmikuu, the month of the pearl. This idea spawns from the common deceptive February weather. I myself oftentimes forget that after January, where I assume winter is at it’s chilliest, that February holds it’s own place card. February taunts us with the sun of springtime, but still retains the icy wind that chills to the bone. The month of the pearl idea originates from this exact occurrence: whereby in the sun, the snow melts on the tree branches, forming droplets. As those droplets re-freeze in the icy cold wind, they form pearls of ice. It’s gorgeous imagery at its finest. The ideal pearl is round and smooth, but many other shapes occur – kind of like with people. There is an ideal, but there is so much beauty outside of the cookie-cutter.

But as we continue the onion of complexity that is the month of February, I find myself intricately wound within it. Generally it is mispronounced because FebRuaRy has the dissimilation effect of two R’s so closely put together. And if nothing else, I am a lover of language and insofar find the lack of attention paid to this word one of my biggest pet peeves. It is the month to celebrate Black History and it is also full of important dates. We’re all aware of the big ones: Valentine’s Day, Groundhog’s Day and President’s Day – but there are so many more. The Chinese New Year. Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. George Washington’s birthday. Liberation Day in Kuwait. Dominican Republic’s Independence Day. And those are just a few. It is also the shortest month of the year and every fourth year is a leap year and includes long-forgotten February 29^th. There is also a bunch of symbolism and ideology behind the month of February. The birthstone is the amethyst, which signifies piety, humility, spiritual wisdom and sincerity.

Although I may be hesitant and unwilling to accept the idea that the month I was born in thoroughly dictates my personality, I am however, willing to state that the month of February and I are intertwined. For the better or the worse, I have learned so much about myself as of late. And to be honest, even though I’ve been going through a rough, lonely phase as of late, I am falling in love with this whole experience of life. The pain, the frustration, the happiness that sneaks up on you – it’s all a part of the mystery and the fun. I truly am in love with the whole world. :)