Whenever people hear that I'm from Chicago, they automatically assume I'm fine with the cold. "Oh, so you're used to this" has to be one of the most common phrases I've heard in my time at Dartmouth. But I'm a warm weather girl at heart I lived my first 11 years in Tucson, Ariz., where it's never below 60 degrees and we went hiking and swimming on Christmas morning. Winter does not excite me. I absolutely hate ice skating. The one and only time I tried snowboarding, I fell so catastrophically that the mountain's safety team thought I had died. Apprehension was my main sentiment as I prepared to return to campus this Winter. But since I've gotten here, I've found something entirely different than I expected. My freshman year, I still had no idea what was going on. By now, I feel like I've seen some stuff, and this term more than any other is helping me to remember what's important. Some of my best friends have abandoned me for exotic locations (Nepal, Peru and France to name a few) and as much as I miss their daily presence, I'm reminded that I love them enough to keep in touch. Another friend is here but graduating in the spring, and his relentless excitement for all things snow-filled has rubbed off on me, while simultaneously making me realize how much I'll miss him. I'm not the only one feeling lonely, or loved or lost. Winter is time for huddling together literally and figuratively and not worrying about how you look. Your friends will love you no matter what. Frosty Friday everybody!
Editor's Note
