Dear Massachusetts Winters,
Having lived through 20 of you so far, I can confidently say that you are one of the biggest mixed bags I’ve ever encountered. By the end of fall, I’m absolutely ready for you to arrive: with winter comes the holiday season, gorgeous snow, and general festivities that are both exciting and comforting. Students in the Bay State begin to feel around November that something big is coming, something that has been brewing for weeks—the first big snow. With this yearly tradition comes the promise of cute winter clothing, snow days off from school, hot chocolate, and plenty of winter sport opportunities. Looking outside your window in the morning and seeing a world of white has got to be one of the best feelings in the world, especially after the darker shades of fall have dominated for so long. A winter without snow would just feel plain wrong and unacceptable to those of us in New England.
However, standing here from my current viewpoint in the middle of February, I can hardly fathom a time when I wanted more snow and cold weather on the horizon. Winter, it’s definitely time for you to go now. I’m tired of being freezing when I leave my dorm, only to overheat as soon as I get to my building due to the 4,000 layers of cloths I’m wearing. After the holidays ended, the allure of snow and ice faded fast and all we are left with now are subzero temperatures, difficult walks and drives outside, and the feeling that summer will never, EVER come. Winter jackets and hats were fun and fashionable at first…until you’ve been wearing them for three months nonstop. Snow was pretty and fun at first…until you have to scrape your car off for the millionth time and walk to class in the slush and roaring winds.
To be fair, it isn’t all bad—unexpected snow days are a miracle from heaven, cuddling up with blankets and warm tea is wonderful, and taking cute pictures in the snow can provide endless Instagram opportunities. In addition, the bad weather can provide and excuse to stay inside if you don’t want to go out (and if you do want to, you’ll end up Ubering everywhere). But seriously, if you could stop by the time February rolls around I think we’d all appreciate that.
Of course in the summer I’ll be complaining about the heat, too. You can’t win in Mass.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Bay Stater
