The moment I step outside, cold slaps my face. It's winter now, and all the world's color has been silenced by gray. It seems that just moments ago, green was layering the treetops, yellow flowers were speckling the grass, and before each night, pink and purple streaked the afternoon sky, making it as if we were looking straight into outer space. But, that's all faded away. Instead, lonely gray skies layered with tired gray clouds watch over silent gray sidewalks. People walk around, so wrapped up in coats and scarves and mittens that their faces are hidden, and it's difficult to even recognize a familiar face. It's no wonder we've coined the term "seasonal depression," even if you do manage to stay warm inside, just the thought of the lifelessness surrounding you is enough to suck your soul dry.

Still, everyone has their own forms of armor that protect them against the physical and mental effects of winter.

For me, these are the list of things that I use to keep warm:

The sweet red mittens I got for Christmas

Thick hot coffee running down my throat

Baking cookies that coat my house with a warm sugar smell

Watching our favorite movies until we fall asleep

Taking baths covered by feathery citrus bubbles

Reading Fitzgerald

to imagine myself in a different world

of shimmering gold and extravagant beauty,

careless spontaneity,

fleeting immortality

And when I go to sleep

the memories return

of us, cushioned by soft white sand

candy pink lemonades in hand,

crystal glasses sweating out cold joy-tears

and we laugh about wonderful, meaningless things

In the infinite distance

the egg-yolk sun melts like butter

into the glistening water

I breathe in that creamy smell of toasted salt-sea

enough to last

through the bland winter