Snow
Photo credit: Luis Hernandez

All summer we hear people complaining about the heat, because we’d obviously much rather be freezing our asses off to the point that we can’t even feel how cold we are.  I mean, who wouldn’t pick going out in these below-freezing temperatures over going to the beach on a hot summer day?? Vacations are so overrated. There are so many great and under appreciated things about winter, like snow days. (Although when was the last time we had one of those?) Here are some of my other “favorite” things about the winter season.

It gets dark earlier. Don’t you love getting out of class or work around five o’clock and it’s already dark out? Maybe this would be great if we were brown bears in hibernation. Unfortunately, we all have classes to attend and work to do, so sleeping in a cave for x amount of months probably isn’t the best decision.

Dressing in layers and layers of clothing before going outside. During this time of the year, it’s far too cold outside to be wearing any less than eight layers of clothing. And worst of all, having to bundle up hides all those new cute clothes that you got over the holidays! On the bright side, at least no one can tell how much weight you’ve gained from eating all those home cooked meals with your family. The secret is out, however, when you finally make it indoors and have to waste twenty minutes trying to peel off all the sweaters, cardigans and scarves on your body to avoid having a heat stroke. And guess what? You have to put them all back on again before you leave— what a pain!

The dry air indoorsWhile it’s great walking into a nice, warm classroom after braving the arctic conditions outside, we do not need it to be hotter than a sauna in July! Turning the thermostat all the way up just results in making everyone’s noses stuffy and throats sore, not to mention the drastic shift in temperature can induce all sorts of wonderful cold and flu strains and sinus infections in people who are already sick! Ugh – as if we weren’t already suffering?!

Snow days. Those white flakes falling from the sky sure look beautiful when you’re watching them fall from your dorm room window, but once you have to walk to class or work things can get pretty dangerous. Watch out for black ice; you can never be too cautious. Braver souls will test their luck and try to slowly walk over it, only to slip and come crashing into a world of pain and embarrassment. No matter how skillfully you try to maneuver your way through icy spots on the ground, you always fail. Go ahead – you can try to walk it off and pretend no one saw you fall, but I can guarantee you that everybody around you did!

Static electricity. Have you ever had snow pile up in your hair and then before you can brush it out, the wind has blown it all over your face and it’s gotten stuck in your chapstick and all over your clothes? You must spend at least ten minutes fixing yourself up, right? But then you only end up making it worse because the static from your wool gloves has made your hair to stick straight up in the air like you’re hanging upside-down.  Save yourself the time and effort because there’s no point in even trying to look good in the winter!

Texting woes. If you like a challenge, you should definitely try texting with gloves on. Trust me, it’s totally possibly – if you’re having trouble, then you’re probably just not pressing hard enough. Kidding! But if I were you, I wouldn’t suggest taking your gloves off because your fingers will instantly go numb and you won’t be able to move them at all. Fun, right? Maybe more of us should start investing in some of those tech-friendly gloves, since we all know we can’t go five minutes without checking our phones. And if you think texting gloves are ugly,  it’s like I said before: winter is the time of year when everyone and everything looks ugly— just look at the trees!

Burning your tongue on a hot beverage – ouch! After a long day spent trudging through the snow and frigid wind, it’s feels amazing to get back to your apartment and fix yourself a steaming cup of tea or hot chocolate…that is, until you burn your tongue on the first sip with what feels like molten lava! You can kiss your sense of taste goodbye for the next week.

If you ask me, there’s really nothing positive about the winter season. If by chance you have a favorite thing about winter, leave a comment describing what that is. If not, share your least favorite thing and we can count down the days until spring together!

Author

  • Brittany

    Brittany Tedesco is a junior Global Media/Sound & Music major with a minor in music at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA. She is currently studying abroad for a year at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. Her obsessions include coffee, her laptop, and Alice in Wonderland. She dreams of working in the music industry and traveling the world, but she'll always be a Jersey girl at heart.