I am more than lucky to come from a city surrounded by beaches and sunshine all year long. A sunny 70 degrees is a typical day, even in the middle of the December. I’ve spent many Christmases lying out by the pool, and I’m blessed to be at least lightly bronzed, if not truly tanned, all year long. My winter wardrobe is limited to a couple sweaters and a few pairs of jeans, and at the age of 18, I (finally) bought my first winter coat. I’ve seen snow once in my life, and experienced true confusion and tears of joy as these little white flakes fell from the sky. You probably guessed it, but I was born and raised in Miami, and I have no clue how to handle cold weather.

This past week, I overslept for my 8 A.M., frantically threw on a t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, walked outside and experienced absolute misery when this huge cold breeze hit me suddenly. I checked the weather app on my phone and was shocked when my phone read “68 degrees.” I’m well aware that many people in different parts of the country have solid summer temperatures that are lower than this, and that maybe I seemed a little pathetic when I went back to my dorm and changed into pants and a long sleeve shirt, but I will openly admit that I cannot deal with the cold. I have never lived in a place where school got cancelled because of cold weather, I’ve never seen the leaves fall of the trees, let alone change colors, have never built a snowman, had a true reason to make hot chocolate, and it’s more likely that the temperature is over 100 than below 50 throughout the entire year. The second I feel a harsh breeze; I’m the first person to put on a sweatshirt. I’m realizing that this might be a problem, and as of right now, it’s only the beginning of October, and Tallahassee is bound to get so much colder as winter approaches. However, unlike so many others, I have no idea what to do. Will I freeze before spring comes? I really wouldn’t doubt it.

So here’s my apology in advance for bundling up whenever I do go outside during the real winter time, for breaking out my Uggs when the temperature drops below 70 degrees, for hibernating under a blanket in my room every night during winter, for going out at night in a parka, and if a miracle happens and snow really does come, for crying at the sight of snowfall. I know its extremely embarrassing, but I really am just a Miami girl who has absolutely no idea how to do this whole “winter” thing.