As we progress further into the year, with students’ minds swimming with thoughts about exams, holidays, and spring registration, the temperature outside is getting colder and darker. And admittedly, I used to be one of those people who absolutely could not stand the cold weather and became miserable every time I had to step outside into the cold, complaining and generally annoying everyone around me. But recently, I’ve started loving the cold weather. I enjoy going outside when it’s cold. And although winter will probably forever be my least favorite season, I have learned a couple things that have helped me learn to love—or at least tolerate—the colder weather.
The biggest tip I have to increase general positivity in your life is to surround yourself with people who also embrace positivity. And this doesn’t mean you have to find yourself a whole new group of friends and burn your bridges with everyone you’ve ever known who doesn’t like cold weather (although that might help keep you warm…). The next time your friend complains about how the winter wind messes up her hair, tell her how great she looks rocking a tousled hairstyle. When you’re out in a group and everyone’s complaining about how cold it is, instead refocus the group’s attention to how beautiful the falling leaves look or how crisp and fresh the air feels. If your friends still aren’t winter people (and who can blame them?), find friends who feel positively about cold weather. Tons of people love fall and winter and feel energized by it. Talk to these people and see if their attitudes help shape your own.
Next, changing your mindset is everything. If every time you walk outside you think to yourself how awful the weather is and how you can’t wait until it’s summer again, you’re going to spend the majority of the year miserable. Instead, come up with a little way of thinking that you can remind yourself of whenever the weather starts getting you down. One of my friends recently told me that cold weather makes her feel more awake and alive, which is something my dad used to tell me too. When I started adapting that line of thinking, I began to really appreciate the changing weather. Now, when I leave my dorm for class, I see the biting cold as a natural way of waking me up. No need to drink coffee, the early-morning weather will energize me just fine. And when I’m walking around campus I pay attention to how the cold affects me, how it makes me pay more attention to how I’m feeling.
If darkness is the problem you have with the autumn and winter, just remind yourself that this is the natural cycle of the Earth. The days keep getting shorter now, but they will grow once again in the spring. In the meantime, you can feel free to enjoy how much extra time in the dark you have to look up at the stars. Plus, a lack of sunlight isn’t really stopping you from doing anything you would normally do. You can still go grab dinner with your friends, explore Main Street, have movie nights, and get all your schoolwork done, some of it just might have to be in the dark. The dark makes everything feel more adventurous and nostalgic anyway, so have some fun with it.
I know that not everybody loves cold weather. If I had my choice, I would live on a tropical beach where the temperature never dipped below 70 degrees. But since we all have to live with Delaware’s winter weather, we may as well learn to love it.
