Ever since I was little, I dreamed of having a white Christmas every year. Having snow just went along with the idyllic scenery of having Santa and his reindeer coming on top of my snow-caked roof. My family always went Up North for Christmas vacation and spent time with my grandparents. We would go to our famous sledding hill and have tons of fun.

Then, shortly after Kindergarten, I moved to Florida. My dreams of having a white Christmas were still true, but it was white sand instead of snow. My siblings and I would still go back to Michigan over Winter Break to visit our mom, but we never got the full effect of a "Michigan Winter". Years later, we moved back to Michigan. We ended up living a couple miles from my grandparents' old home. This was the beginning of my obsession with winter.

I love winter because of all the outdoor activities. There's skiing, sledding, snowmobile riding, and ice fishing. Something about spending hours outside and coming inside for some hot chocolate resonated with me. I have so many memories of tumbles down the sledding hill, snowmobile smoke in the eyes, and freezing my butt off to catch some "monster" perch. Do not get me wrong, I do love going to the beach and getting tan. But, I love getting all layered up in my Columbia parka, a Carhartt hat, and some cute knit scarf.

Now that I am MSU, I constantly hear the complaints of "Flat-Landers" about how cold it is and that MSU should cancel school more often. Yes, as I am writing this, we currently have two consecutive snow days. But, at the same time, it puts a burden on MSU employees and commuters if there are unreasonable snow days. We can deal with walking around campus in the mid-to-low teens, but it is reasonable when the temperature dips into the negatives. Snowy and 14 is just fine enough-put on a hat and some gloves and get an education.

There are some downsides to winter: the cold, layering up to walk across campus, not being able to feel my toes and the awful drivers that accompany the snowy roads. But, I would not trade this paradise of Michigan for anything. Being around the snow-covered trees and looking forward to the lakes freezing over makes me appreciate actually having four seasons-even if we can experience all four in one day.

P.S. This is a video of an MSU student skiing to class a girl on my floor took. Thanks, Maria Chodnicki!