Illinois is blessed, or cursed, depending on your weather preferences, with four easily identifiable seasons.

Our winters are full of bone-chilling temperatures, blizzards that come out of nowhere, and large patches of ice that linger under the snow waiting to trip you up in front of your peers. Spring brings an influx of pollens which will make any allergy sufferer cringe, and swarms of bugs that love nothing more than to dive bomb you on your way to class. Fall is filled with swarms of orange-bag wearing freshman who don’t have this whole college thing figured out and makes life slow way down for older students.

However, the worst part of the year -- weather-wise -- is the last few weeks of summer when we return to school. Why? Because, in addition to the sweltering heat, there is a haze of humidity that you have to swim through to get to class.  

Several houses, dorms and apartments endure these weeks without air conditioning because they are old, and never had it in the first place, or they have a broken unit and are on a maintenance waiting list -- which takes forever. Either way, being in this town without air conditioning is the worst. Imagine, coming home after a day of class, or a night out with friends, and all you want to do is roll into bed and pass out, but you can’t because your bed feels like a bed of hot coals. Spending your days without air conditioning is a constant drain on the body and mind, but for those of us who have become pros in the ways of living without AC, there are ways to keep your cool. 

Fans will be your best friends until the weather cools down. Think about where you place them and the airflow in the room. It’s best to keep the air moving as much as possible, so if you have the option to keep your door propped, even if it is just a crack, it can make a huge difference. Otherwise you are just circulating hot air.

Another simple, yet effective, tip is to get a cool washcloth and put it on your forehead. It’s a great way to cool off when sleeping, whether it is for the entire night or just a quick nap. 

After you're rested up and getting ready to head to happy hour, you might want to consider taking it easy with the drinks. Consuming alcohol doesn’t make your core body temperature warmer, but it does make a drinker feel warmer because, as the blood vessels dilate, warm blood moves closer to the surface of your skin and makes you feel the heat brought on by alcohol.  

Unless you know for sure that you have AC coming, it’s best to avoid spending long periods of time in it, like at a friend’s house or the library. I’m not saying go cold turkey, but the more time you spend in air conditioning, the more apparent it will be that you don't have it, once you go home.  

Luckily, this hellish time period only lasts a few weeks. Eventually, fall weather will come and it will be time to break out the crew necks and light jackets. For those who spent their first weeks of school in a haze of heat, fall will be the reprieve that they have been desperately yearning for since the day they moved in.