As October draws to a close and November begins, we must say goodbye to our love of warm Boone weather and hello to crying from cold wind in your eyes. This being my fourth year in Boone, I've picked up a few tips and tricks to surviving the frigid winter days that plague us here in the mountains.

1. When unprepared for the cold, walking behind a large man will protect you from the harsh winds.

2. If it reaches below freezing, it's better to stay in bed all day.

3. Make sure to purchase extremely overpriced snow boots even though you live in North Carolina and hardly ever need them with the exception of a few months out of the year.

4. Wear lots of padding in your pants for when you fall on your butt multiple times a day, every day for around four months.

5. Be prepared to never drive anywhere unless you own a monster truck.

6. Realize that binge drinking in your apartment will become a regular thing since walking to the bars is out of the question.

7. Begin crafting stories to tell your future kids about how you walked uphill both ways in the snow just to make it to class.

8. Work on your whining voice since you'll be complaining a lot more than normal.

9. Find ways to pretend it isn't winter, like turning your heat all the way up until you can't stop sweating.

10. Cry a lot.

11. Eat lots of food in order to pack on some extra weight to keep you warm.

Happy winter, friends!