Good Evening TXK
As if there are not already enough questions I ask myself daily about why I am the way I am, I’ve started asking myself a new one. Why in the Sam Hill am I suddenly wide awake the very second my head hits the pillow, when I should be absolutely exhausted at the end of a long, hard day? I get overstimulated, feeling a deep desire to watch every show on Hulu, Google answers to every existential question I have, and stress about the household tasks I’ve had all afternoon to complete. I lay there with my eyes wide open, unable to fall asleep until midnight or later, and wake up dragging as I prepare to do all the same things over and over on repeat.
I suppose, from what I’ve seen and heard over the years, most of us on Earth come to a moment in time when we ask ourselves, “How did I get here?” Every day we go to our same jobs, attempt the same tasks, see the same people, drive the same car, come back home after work to the same space, and go out to the same places with the same friends to waste time on the weekends. Maybe the only person in the world who doesn’t do this is Taylor Swift? But who knows?! Maybe even her life has had a monotonous era. I mean, it seems like for all of us, at some point or another, life begins to feel like Groundhog Day.
Groundhog Day actually originated from the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on February 2 and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. However, credited to the 1993 film titled Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray, the term took on the new meaning of a person reliving the same day over and over. The film took this novelty idea and turned it into a metaphor for personal growth and self-improvement, popularizing the idea of being stuck in a time loop, for comedic effect of course. The film became so popular after its release that this somehow became the official new interpretation of the term in popular culture.
Often, as young children, instead of simply enjoying the carefree luxury of our youth, the only thing we can think of is growing up. We can’t wait to be 16, so we can have our first car. We can’t wait to be 18, so we can be taken more seriously as legal adults. We can’t wait to be 21, because... well, you know. In 13 Going on 30, the main character couldn’t wait to be 30 because, according to that movie, that’s when life becomes fun. Before we even know it, we are 16, 18, 21, and life is not turning out to be the new adventures we imagined as children. “Responsible” adulthood can sometimes mean a monotonous mix of dropping off and picking up kids from school, solving problems at work, putting out fires in our personal lives, eating, and sleeping, only to wake up and repeat all of it again tomorrow.
If there’s one thing I’m going to continue to do in this life, baby, it’s quote Miss Hannah Montana, my queen forever and a day. As she always said, “Life’s what you make it,” and she was absolutely correct! No, it’s not always easy, but life does not have to be a one-note journey day-after-day for the rest of your time on this planet. We must be determined to make even the smallest of things enjoyable for ourselves.
There’s nothing more frustrating than looking back at the end of the year and realizing all the goals you did not achieve or the changes you failed to make. In 2023, I got caught up in the repetitiveness of the day-to-day, the sneaky little devil that she is, and I allowed myself to get much too comfortable. I know that’s normal, so I won’t beat myself up for it, but I also know what I want out of life, and the discipline it will take to get there.
I think it’s time, once again, to reframe “groundhog day” in our minds and unsee it as “being stuck” living the same day over and over again. Instead, we need to see each new seemingly repetitive day as an opportunity to conquer tasks with new and better habits and more determination than we did the day before. That should be our ultimate goal, and that’s how we will look back at the end of 2024 with no regrets.
LIVE MUSIC
February 2
Travis Matthews & Company
1923 Banana Club, 8 pm
February 3
Masterworks III: Voices of Power
Perot Theatre, 7 pm
February 2
Danny Maxey
Redbone Magic Brewing Company, 7 pm
February 9
Moss Brothers
Redbone Magic Brewing Company, 7 pm
February 24
Split Decision
1923 Banana Club, 8pm
LOCAL EVENTS
February 2-4
AKC Dog Show
Four States Fair and Rodeo
February 3
Blue Jeans and Bling: Rock and Roll
Crossties
February 9
Downtown Live
The Gallery at 1894
6-9 pm
February 9
Puppy Pals Live
Perot Theatre
7 pm
February 9, 10, & 14
Valentine Dinner Theatre Comedy
1923 Banana Club
February 10
10th Annual 4-States Ultimate Challenge Shoot Out with Stoney LaRue in Concert
Four States Fair and Rodeo, 7 pm
February 10
Mardi Gras Txk 2024
Downtown Texarkana, AR
10 am-8 pm
February 17
Wheel of Fortune Live
Perot Theatre
8 pm
February 18
Tough Kookie Foundation cancer support group meetings
Oak Street Church Life Center
4 pm
February 18
Run the Line Texarkana Half Marathon
West Broad & Main Streets
7:30 am
February 20
Lunch & Learn with Orthopedic Specialists of Louisiana
Silver Star Smokehouse; 11:30 am-1 pm
February 22-25
Holes
presented by Silvermoon Children’s Theatre
Silvermoon on Broad
various times
February 24
Moto Circus
Four States Fair and Rodeo
February 24
Polar Plunge for Special Olympics
The Sportxplex by Healthcare Express
9 am
