There we were again, what seemed as the kickstart of the new year to many, it was yet again the dawn of another year of seemingly unending unemployment and depression.

It was five years straight with no form of employment nor a response to my thirty-plus job applications.

At this point, It had long sunk in that my life wasn’t getting any closer to getting better, I was the sad and broke excuse of a drunk night to my ex-girlfriend, my only friends seemed to drift away from our connection because they had carried on with their happy lives and away from my constant mood swings. There I was, with no relation nor purpose what so ever in my life.

For a moody unemployed young person, living through January isn’t what you’d call a bed of roses. Come to think about it, it’s more like a bicycle ride down a steep mountain slope.

January can be one hell of a year especially if you don’t expect any paycheck coming in anytime. While everyone seems to be complaining about how broke it is, you, on the other hand, expect nothing but a fight with January, the most depressing stage of the year.

Damn-right I called it a stage, because whereas everyone around you seems to be patient and hopeful, all you have are mood swings, pending bills and social media; a constant reminder that your friends are aging, living life and getting married.

Smh! You know the pettiest thing with January is that you are still fresh off the New Year celebrations and excitement, free from thoughts and last year’s bad energy, and out of nowhere it swoops in with the cold chills of loneliness, depression, and poverty.

You already spent almost all your December earnings and part of your annual savings during the festive season celebrations. All you are left with are pennies to get data bundles.

Here you are contemplating getting a couple of loans to survive on or simply staying put and adopt the ‘eat once, starve once’ notion.

At this point, you are extremely paranoid, your work rate reduces, your mood to continue with the hustle deteriorates. A sudden feeling of worthlessness creeps up on your self-esteem.

For the longest time known, poverty had been accused to be the number one cause of frustration and depression, trust me when I assert, I am only here to confirm those allegations. Whatever the period it covers, the amount of brokenness that comes with January brands it the most depressing stage of the year for many unemployed young people.

Where we go from here or whatever we do to save ourselves from this cancer is something we collectively need to tackle as a whole, if we are to have our best shot at fighting January.