Winter is here again. It came a little later than usual, but when it arrived, it hit like a freight train.
Here in Moorhead, MN, it is a balmy 7 degrees, the warmest it's been all week.
According to the Weather Channel, the Huffington Post, the Star Tribune, and the University Herald, Moorhead is home to the top two coldest colleges in the United States, Minnesota State University-Moorhead and Concordia College-Moorhead. Just two blocks apart, the two colleges are in the Red River Valley, where the land is flat and the wind is cold.
About 40,000 people populate Moorhead, but living here is one thing. Attending college here is a whole other beast.
While I'm not sure why I enrolled in such a cold place to begin with, there are some things you learn that make living here a little more bearable.
If it's -19 with a -30 degree windchill, you still have to go to class.
Leaving home requires some planning.
Layers are SO important!!
Hair, including eyelashes can freeze. And they will.
You can't wait to the last minute to take a shower before leaving. Everything needs to be dry.
If you drive to school, be sure to plan at least 20 extra minutes for your commute.
You're going to need to clean off your car. The roads will probably be slippery.
"Fashionable" clothing is not a priority.
Put on your ugly coat, sensible boots, and unmatching scarf, hat, and mittens!
It's okay to take twice as long to walk to class.
Whether you take the long way to go through as many buildings as possible or just penguin shuffle across the ice, your walk is likely to take a bit longer.
There is a universal time that you make when you slip on the ice.
If you slip, but don't fall, you make a noise to assure the people around you that you're okay and not at all embarrassed.
You better hope the sidewalks are cleared, or you're hiking.
Sometimes the snow plows don't get out early enough in the morning, but that doesn't mean you don't have to go to class.
Despite all the cold moments, they are outshined by the beautiful ones. And you love your home.
While attending college where the temperatures are sub-zero for much of the year may seem crazy, I wouldn't trade it for anything.
