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upworthy

winter

Simon Beck didn't set out to become a world-renowned snowshoe artist, yet here he is. The former cartographer was trained in engineering at Oxford, but has spent the past ten years making jaw-dropping art in the snow and sand using only his feet.

Beck uses geometrical and geographical tools to plot out his designs, but it's still baffling to see him walk exactly where he needs to to create them. His designs can take 12 hours of walking or more, and he'll take around 40,000 steps for an average-sized piece. It's beautiful, it's creative, it's exercise—and it's fleeting.

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Depression grips everyone differently. To Trista Kempa, it means lying in bed and wishing she never woke up.

"It’s not that I wish I was dead," the 30-year-old New Yorker clarifies. "I just feel like I’m missing any feeling at all."

When Kempa was a college student living in Michigan, a doctor told her she she may have seasonal affective disorder — a form of depression, fittingly dubbed "SAD," that typically strikes when the days grow shorter in fall and winter. For patients, a persistent decrease in sunlight exposure may cause mood swings, energy loss, increased anxiety, and more.

It's the winter blues on steroids.



GIF by Emma Darvick.

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Family

Kesha's got some solid tips for beating the holiday blues.

'It's not selfish to take time for yourself.'

If you have a tough time getting through the holidays, Kesha's got some great advice.

The past few years have been a bumpy ride for the singer-songwriter — largely sidelined while she battled producer Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, who she maintains sexually assaulted her, in court — but Kesha Rose Sebert emerged as a true force to be reckoned with in 2017. In August, she released "Rainbow," her first album since 2012, to absolutely rave reviews. A month prior, she opened up about using her art as an outlet to cope with depression and an eating disorder.

Despite the triumphant year, she, like millions around the world, struggles around the holidays.

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In North India, winter temperatures are dropping to record lows, causing problems for crops, trains, and an ex-circus performer named Suzy.

Suzy is toothless, blind, and just one of 23 formerly abused elephants living at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center in Mathura, India.

"The rescued elephants under rehabilitation at Wildlife SOS have been rescued from shocking circumstances," said Geeta Seshamani, the center's secretary and co-founder. "We aim to provide them with a safe habitat where they can live like elephants.

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