I love the cold. It's my favorite time of year. The colder, the better. My friends always roll their eyes, because I'm excited for the sub-zero temperatures I'm sure we'll have again this year in little Greenville where we go to school. But what if you're from an area that doesn't get snow? What if you've never seen snow, aside from pictures? How do you make it through that first college winter? The 5 ways I came up with might help you and save you the long road of learning I had to take as a younger student.
1. Bundle up in layers
This may sound self-explanatory, but I knew a guy in high school who never wore anything more than a t-shirt and shorts. His reasoning?... "I'm not cold. It's nice outside" Well, we had a temperature of -2 in February with 25mph winds. You do the math about how that feels. I like the cold, but I'm not crazy. I'll bundle up when I need to and enjoy every second of it (seriously).
2. Understand the cold can hurt you
We have students slipping and falling on ice every year. It's not that our school doesn't care. When you have rain year-round that freezes in less than an hour and snow storms that come and dump a few inches faster than you can blink, sometimes it's difficult to keep up. When you go outside, be careful and always pay attention for ice hidden under snow.
3. Protect as much as you can
I saw a student last winter walking around with ski goggles when the wind became insane. Even though it may seem funny or unnecessary, my first thought was how smart of an idea it was. The wind can become so intense that you have to cover your eyes with your hand to see where you're going. Don't be afraid of what others think if it helps you stay warm!
4. Expect other places to be warmer than others
I went to dinner with a friend one day and we were hit with a burst of cold air like a freight truck going into our dining hall. We were told the heat for the building was broken, despite the fact the temperature was a whopping 5 degrees outside. If you're like me and showed up in a t-shirt underneath my jacket, it can become a pretty interesting meal.
5. If you plan on keeping a car on campus, keep this in mind...
I was walking to class one day two winters ago and I saw a student literally digging his car out outside our dorm. Shrugging, I went to class and came back about an hour-fifteen later. He was still digging the car out. "I have to get to class. It's too cold out to walk," was all he said when he saw me looking. Wait... it's about a 10, 15 minute walk to our academic center. In the time I was gone, he could've made the trip three times, and then he spent all that time in the cold digging his car out... Anyway, it's very possible your car will end up buried in a foot of snow, so keep that in mind when you sign up for a parking pass.
