Winter is soon to be upon us, and that means that we are entering the "most wonderful time of the year!" I'd write a thousand articles on this if I could, but I can't, so that means that I have to make, like, a few articles during this time of the year about how amazing it is and leave it with the season. Whenever the cold weather starts to hit and you start seeing your breath, you know it's a great time to be alive. One of my favorite parts of the cold and the winter is family and togetherness.

Winter and cold can make you feel really depressed. There literally is a psychological term called 'Seasonal Affective Disorder' where people feel depressed during the winter. I think it hits everyone a little bit; though I always talk about how much I love the winter, it's not because the winter naturally makes everyone feel better-- no, it's because the winter brings everyone together. Just think, during the winter, everyone is cold and miserable (but not miserable in a wicked bad way, just less than happy) and that causes everyone to share a common theme of being upset. This ubiquitous feeling gives everyone a chance to bond, even with complete strangers. Think, if you have to shovel and you see your neighbor shoveling and you see other people shoveling as you drive down the street, you feel like you know the struggle that everyone is going through.

This sentiment brings families even closer together. Think about it: when it's cold and dark and sad, families tend to get together and eat warm meals and share jokes and laughs. Why? Because being alone during the winter is a very sad thing. In order to fight off sadness, we stay together and we all share our season. The one problem with winter is the fact that it makes lonely people even more lonely. That being said, it also brings lonely people more chances to fight their loneliness. It's a romantic season and love fills the air. I consider it a necessary evil-- it gets cold and dreary in order for everyone to be closer together (or most folks at least).

The idea of fighting darkness and sadness with togetherness is what excites me for winter. The evils of winter, like the dark and the snow and the cold, are made good in my mind and in my view by what they bring: closeness.