At the end of my drive back from Colorado, nothing really prepared me for the shi-- *snow* storm that awaited me in Laramie. When I opened the driver's side door to unpack my things, the wind, frigid air, and overwhelming feeling of instant regret enveloped me and has yet to loosen its grip. I'd like to say "thanks again" to all the people who tried to warn me about the wind and the cold during the winter months in Laramie, Wyoming. To say it gets cold in Laramie would be a major understatement. With the cold comes a laundry list of phrases from the students of Wyoming...

1. "This is only the beginning."

There's a looooong winter ahead of us.

2. "I can't wait to go back to Virginia."

That is if you're lucky enough to have a warm climate to go home to for Christmas.

3. "We're taking the tunnels, right?"

God bless the tunnels that connect the freshman dorms to each other and the dining hall...if only we could arrange something for getting me to the health science building on the opposite side of campus.

4. *Walks two steps out of the building* "This is not okay."

5. "I think I bruised my tailbone." (because the wind knocked me on my butt)

True freaking story.

6. "My hair is frozen."

Five words of wisdom: Don't shower in the morning.

7. "The elementary school has the day off because kids were getting blown over."

I can't make this stuff up.

8. "Why did I come here? No seriously, like why did I choose this university?"

Occasionally we fantasize about what life would be like in an alternate universe where we chose to go to Florida for school.

9. "Wanna go to Prexy's pasture and watch people fall over?"

The ice factor can be pretty entertaining, but in the same token...

10. "My friend got a candid video of me almost dying on the ice outside the dorms today."

11. "I look like a try-hard gangster today."

Warmth trumps fashion.

12. *finally gets inside* "My thighs are defrosting."

13. "We are walking through the Union today."

**The union serves as a warmth base that's located between the freshman dorms and the classroom building.

14. "Can we do a floor workout in my room today? It's too cold to go to the gym."

15. "Wanna go drifting?"

...the perks of living in the middle of nowhere and having an E-brake...

16. "My car is sealed shut."

Rain, wind, and freezing temperatures have literally sealed my Subaru shut on more than one occasion.

Stay warm, Wyoming.