By Jared Fields, Editor in Chief

Saturday morning I woke up, turned on my TV and began flipping through channels. I noticed something odd after passing Nickelodon. The children’s station ran just a logo with scrolling text across the bottom.

I haven’t watched Nickelodeon since my childhood crush Amanda Bynes appeared in “All That,” so I didn’t know much of the goings on of the network.

Pretty soon after stopping on the station, the text started telling me to quit being a slouch and to get off the couch. It told me to go outside and play because the station would be blank for three hours, from noon until 3 p.m., as part of Nickelodeon’s World Wide Day of Play.

Saturday’s weather was beautiful, but I felt too old to be the focus of Nickelodeon’s message.

Something could be said for the sad state of our nation’s obese youth; rather, I found it sad that Nickelodeon has to tell kids to go outside and play. I thought playing was the only option facing a bored kid on a Saturday afternoon.

Everyday used to be a day of play as a kid for me. It didn’t matter if the temperature was 110 degrees in August or 26 degrees in February: I was going outside to do something.

I thought of other celebrated days we have that shouldn’t need a day all of their own because we’ve forgotten to be a certain
way all the time. September offered many great examples: International Literacy Day (8), World Peace Day (16), International Day of Peace (20), World Gratitude Day (21) and Good Neighbor Day (26).

I didn’t know September was such a peaceful and loving month.

Everyday should be “play day” or “peace day” or any other day celebrating a way we should act everyday, not just one day out of the year.

This month offers more random days we shouldn’t celebrate on a daily basis. Here are some ideal oncea- year days coming up later in October: Leif Erikson Day (9), National Grouch Day (15), Dictionary Day (16) and National Denim Day (25).

Now, don’t get carried away and think you should enjoy April Fool’s Day, Bad Poetry Day (Aug. 18), Video Games Day (July 12), Rotten Sneaker Day (March 20) or- possibly my favorite – National Goof-Off Day (March 22) every day of the year.

There’s a reason these should only be celebrated once a year. No one wants you to goof off in your rotten sneakers while you play video games all day listening to bad poetry.

But days like the ones listed in September, along with Global Understanding Day (March 26), Earth Day (April 22), Common Sense Day (Jan. 29), World Gratitude Day (Sept. 21) and Human Rights Day (Dec. 10) should not need holidays of their own.

Why can we not do this every day?

We shouldn’t need a “National Day of .” to remind us how to treat other people.