Winter is the WORST. I say this as someone who has lived in the Midwest her entire life. I know my winters. Sure some people are crazy and like it, some people are reasonable and like it for a while and some are like me who wish the snow never fell. But when you live in the Midwest, winter is a huge portion of your life, so you have to try to stay positive, otherwise you’ll hate your life six months out of the year. Here are my Midwestern tips for staying positive in winter.
Let yourself enjoy the beauty:
Okay, okay, fine. Winter can be pretty after a snowfall, so we might as well embrace it. When all the trees are glittering and the roads aren’t grey with exhaust yet, get in the spirit and take those beautiful Instagram and Snapchat pictures.
Cancellations:
Some cancellations suck, like flights or fun nights, but every now and then snow cancels things like class or work or practice and that is fantastic. Enjoy these random days off. They don’t come every winter.
Nights in:
Even if you hate winter and want to avoid it, it can make your casual nights in more cozy. Look, I’ll snuggle up in a blanket and watch Netflix with hot chocolate regardless of the season, but it does help the mood when you glance out the window and see a blizzard that you don’t have to deal with. Take another sip of your cocoa. Does it feel warmer?
Nights out:
Maybe you aren’t a recluse like me and you enjoy going out in the snow. Then there are tons of things for you to do: snowball fights with friends, sledding, ice skating, tubing, skiing, it’s near endless. Watch the Olympics and figure out how to louge, I don’t know. Finding what you enjoy can get you out of the house in freezing temperatures.
Remind yourself it’s not forever:
Contrary to what the rest of the country seems to think, our life is not a perpetual snow storm. Spring and summer will come and I like to think we enjoy it far more than anywhere else. We earn our summers and we get to revel in them. So when it’s the dead of winter and you just wish the snow would go away, remember that there is an end to it.
Enjoy the winter, Pipers. It’ll end soon.