I think everyone can agree that January and February are the most doom and gloom months of the year. Every year I find myself counting down the day until I’m driving with the windows down along the coast of the ocean with all my friends singing. I find myself jealous of my friends who go to school in Texas or California who never have to feel the wind of a cold winter night trying to leave Dinand, or the trek to Kimball with a foot of snow on the ground.
Yet, at the same time, I cannot imagine my life without winter. Would summer be as sweet if I never knew the length of a dark February? I do not think I could describe the feeling to someone from Florida of the first warm day of the spring. A random morning in April, when you step outside after what feels like an eternity, and hear the birds chirping as you walk to meet all your friends on the Hoval, or an early morning on the beach, when you look out to the ocean and can imagine yourself in the winter wishing for this exact moment.
One of my favorite Substack writers, Chloeinletters, wrote this past month, “Is winter so bad, or is it a mirror?” I do not believe we are supposed to be in the same place all year round; winter gives us the opportunity to pause and reflect. Winter reminds me to be thankful. How lucky I feel to have friends that make winter feel just a little bit warmer. Then finally, a perfect summer day arrives as a pleasant reminder that everything comes back with just a little bit of time.