The winter changes how you complete everyday tasks. Cold winds and icy sidewalks can hurt you, and the fear of the next blizzard looms over you every night. Instead of going outside and dealing with the weather, some of us decide to stay indoors for as long as possible. Others brace the weather with pride. We deal with winter on campus in different ways, and I have compiled a list of the four types of people you encounter during this season.
1. The Hibernator
The Hibernator stays curled up in the corner of her bed all day. She prepares a stock pile of snacks and books, and endlessly entertains herself on Netflix and Buzzfeed. She never has a reason to leave the room. The Hibernator feels cold all the time; she can barely deal with the chilly days in autumn. When winter hits, you know that you will only see her in classes, or if she skips those, you're guaranteed to meet again when the snow starts to melt.
2. The Floridian
The Floridian never experienced a snowy winter until coming to college. She comes prepared, packed with a parka, waterproof snow boots, and five pairs of gloves (each one for a "different type" of snowy weather). And when the first snow hits, she wears all of these things immediately. However, only an inch of snow sticks to the ground, and it's thirty-five degrees outside. She admires the snow, but two days later you'll hear her complaining about it. You can recognize the Floridian as a thick bundle of snow clothes amidst the snow-barren college quad. One day she'll learn.
3. The Apathetic Chameleon
The Apathetic Chameleon is used to the cold. She only needs to wear a thin jacket and a pair of sneakers on a snowy day. She admits to herself that it's cold outside, but will never say it out loud. When her friend complains about the weather, the Apathetic Chameleon will roll her eyes and say, "Where I'm from, it's been a lot worse than this," and then proceed to tell the story of the winter storm that destroyed her city in 2012.
4. The Short Shorts Warrior
The Short Shorts Warrior feels nothing, and usually strolls through campus in short shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals -- maybe Uggs if it's a colder day. Everyone gawks at how he embraces the weather, and then questions his actions. They ask if he's crazy, but he casually says, "It's not cold outside" even though it's -3 degrees. You think he's faking it, or maybe even doing it for attention. Regardless of his intentions, we can all learn a lesson from the Short Shorts Warrior by making the best of the winter.
College is one of the only places where you'll find yourself walking everywhere in the freezing cold. Back at home, you're used to driving from place to place, and then running into a building to escape the snow. Or maybe it's even sunny where you live. Nevertheless, the way we respond to the winter reveals a part within us that never emerges on summer days. The hot topic of the season is the cold, and these four types of people always have something interesting add to the conversation.
As Marilyn Monroe once said, "If you can't handle me in the cold, then you sure as hell don't deserve me in the heat." And if we all try to be as happy as Tian Tian the panda when he plays in the snow, winter will be over before we know it.
