Winter in the Midwest is a perplexing thing. Every year, the first snow seems so beautiful and peaceful as it glitters in the light. Giddy feelings can stick with you for weeks, and you become excited for the activities that come along with winter. Then, it’s January. Suddenly, all you want to do is hide inside and avoid the cold and snow at all costs…Hey, remember when you thought you were excited about winter?
Here are just a few relatable struggles Iowa students experience on a daily basis during the cold months of winter.
- Class is never cancelled. Constantly refreshing your e-mails to see if, by a teeny tiny chance, the university has decided to cancel class. Iowa City got a foot of snow last night? Better believe class is still in session. Wind chills of negative 35 degrees outside? Better bundle up and get those attendance points.
- The constant struggle of choosing to stay in your warm bed to watch Netflix all night or brave the cold to go out. You know you’ll have major FOMO if you don’t go. If you do go, you’ll be stuck carrying around your parka all night, because you don’t want to be that girl who still wears a mini skirt in the negative two degree weather (we’ve all been there). The struggle.
- It’s negative 10 degrees one day and 45 degrees the next. When 45 degrees is considered a heat wave, you know you’re in Iowa.
- The Cambus is always packed. The driver is constantly yelling at everyone to “MOVE BACK!” to get more passengers on until you’re packed like bundled-up sardines. Ah, the joys of winter.
- You leave the house dressed for the weather, but you’re sweating once you get to lecture. Everyone has had that one lecture hall that feels like you’re in a sauna, and you quickly regret wearing so many layers.
- ….Yet you find yourself freezing in the next. The old buildings at the university make for extremely inconsistent temperatures. Everyone has also experienced a class where they had to keep their coat on the entire time to avoid nearly freezing to death.
- Tracking in sand and salt everywhere you go. The sand and salt leaves an undesirable trail of filth no matter what building you choose to enter. Not to mention, salt can do some serious damage to your favorite pair of shoes.
- When the snow inconveniently turns into glassy sheets of ice. Eventually, the snow is no longer fluffy and white; it freezes over to become icy patches of destruction, waiting to disrupt your day.
- Having to eat ramen all winter because… heat bills. In the midst of Iowa winters, keeping the heat on is essential. However, heat is a way more expensive energy to use, causing your energy bills to rise.
- Having to travel halfway across the U.S. to get somewhere remotely warm for spring break. Finding somewhere warm for spring break when you go to school in Iowa is a big event. Being in Iowa makes it more difficult to find a warm vacation spot and involves a lot of planning.
Despite these struggles, the perks of going to school at the University of Iowa are well worth it. Although we may struggle, remember: we all struggle together…Go Hawks!
photos: Theverybesttop10.com, University of Iowa, Buzzfeed, news8000.com