From inside my classroom window, looking out onto the snow covered campus is a beautiful sight. The snow dusted Seuss Spruce looks like it could be on a postcard, and the bundled up students look all snuggly in their winter beanies and blanket scarves. But don’t let the aesthetics of it all fool you. Surviving a Geneseo winter is no joke, and I am so happy I only have to shiver through one more of them.

First of all, it’s freezing. And not your average winter freeze. I have slipped and slid all the way to campus on days that are degrees. That seems inhumane. It’s the kind of cold that makes your nose hairs freeze, and your eyelashes stick together. It’s the kind of cold that makes you forget what it ever felt like to be warm.

And if that wasn’t enough, let me just add whipping winds on top of that cold. Winds that rip your hat clean off your head and knock your phone right out of your hand. Winds that take your breath away and blow whatever snow was stuck to the sidewalk, all over you and your already grimacing face.

Then there is the snow. It covers everything, gets into your boots and ruins your day by making your socks wet. You tried to be festive today, threw on your candy cane fuzzy socks, and now they are sloshing in your boots. Nothing is festive about today except your bright red nose.

And don’t even try getting out of the parking lot. Scooping out your car from the three feet of snow it has been buried under overnight is futile. You know you are just going to have to do it again tomorrow.

And you feel prepared. You’ve worn your thickest, comfiest sweater, a scarf, a hat and gloves all underneath your parka. You manage to make it to class without freezing and cracking in half, and as soon as you get there, you start dripping sweat. The heat in every academic building is on max blast, and you can’t strip all of those layers off fast enough. There is no happy medium.

But the worst part about this specific Geneseo winter, is that it will be my last one.