Coming from South Florida, people from your own state always ask, shocked, what it’s like to be in a cold state. Granted, there are some people who just can’t do cold. My mom has a friend whose daughter transferred back to a school in South Florida because she could not handle the cold in Philadelphia. And I understand all that. But this is my message to anyone who has ever asked me this question: it’s not that bad.
Now I will admit that this was a “good winter,” so I can’t really speak too soon, but I think it is fairly doable. Just as we don’t even bat our eyes at the mention of a tropical storm or hurricane in Florida (rather, as a child I rejoiced because it meant no school), is the same way, I suspect, a snowstorm or a blizzard is treated up North. Here is a list I have compiled about things cold weather makes you appreciate.
1. Who doesn’t like the change of seasons?
You couldn’t imagine my joy when I realized that trees could actually change colors and the media had not lied. My dream to witness fall — my favorite season — had finally come true. However, my current obsession is spring, with its abundance of flowers and beauty.
2. When your love for sunshine blossoms.
I have never appreciated sun so much until I lived in cold weather. The sun was so welcoming and it just warmed your heart in the cold, winter air…it grazed the snow, creating a beautifully astonishing but blinding sight. Meanwhile in South Florida, this is our sun:
3. You get to laugh at people who think they know what humidity is
Following the previous image, I also get to laugh at people in Massachusetts who complain about how “humid” it is. Miami will be 77 degrees and have a 66% humidity or higher (sometimes the percentage of the humidity matches the temperature. For example 79 degrees with 74% humidity as what happened this past week, and this is Florida having “good” weather). Meanwhile, Massachusetts sun is like:
4. Breeze…that doesn’t suffocate youSo I had a dilemma living in South Florida. One would believe that the remedy to hot weather is cool breeze. I mean…as an islander, this logic is a no brainer. You’ve seen the ads: it’s summer, so you head on over to the beach and you can feel the luxurious breeze through your toes and hair. But Florida doesn’t know what that is. If there is breeze in Florida, it’s hot, sticky air blowing in your face. It’s like turning on your heater in the (South Florida) summer.
5. I can leave food out in the fall overnight and it is fresh as ever in the morning
I just have no words for this. I left cheese out in Florida once with the air conditioner on and we still had to throw it away. But then I came to Massachusetts and left food out overnight when my dorm had no air conditioning and it was so fresh, it was as if I had just gotten the food.
6. I didn’t know sleeping in a building without air conditioning was possible
This argument seriously wouldn’t work in South Florida, especially in Miami.
Seriously, even with a fan it’s torturous in Miami. I think any college in South Florida without air conditioning would literally be charged with a human rights violation. But you will find that some colleges in Florida won’t have a heater, just as my dorm doesn’t have air conditioning.
So far, I’m appreciating the change of seasons and all the earth has to offer — literally. Happy Spring!
Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
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