Wintertime Woes

We find ourselves here, once again, in the most miserable time of the year: the season of darkness, sickness and dullness. When the first snow day rolled around and I thought to myself this isn’t so bad, the song “Drunk On You” by Luke Bryan — an ultimate ode to summer — came on the radio. Suddenly, I was back to reality.

On most winter days it probably seems like I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and that assumption isn’t far from the truth. If the penetrating sound of the alarm isn’t bad enough, I start my day by surrendering the hospitality and warmth of my covers to the laborious school day ahead of me.

Soon after, I sit frigid in the car on the way to school. My window is foggy, but using my windshield wipers is out of the question. I recently broke them by using them while they were frozen. As I ride along, my clean, wet hair often turns to icicles. With my head an unwanted winter wonderland, it’s no wonder this dry air requires me to have a portable collection of chapsticks. Not only that, but my skin resembles a reptile’s much more than a human’s.

Driving in winter is a story of its own. Each time I open the door to leave the house it is followed with, “Be careful, it’s probably slick out!” Usually it’s not, but we, as teenagers, have heard of near life-threatening car wrecks that our fellow classmates have been involved in. Allowing me behind the wheel with my inexperienced driving is risky enough, so we can definitely hold off on the slick road challenge.

Upon arriving at school, I prepare for my shockingly long journey from the senior lot into school — just enough time for my daily self-diagnosis of hypothermia. Admittedly, I tend to assuage my pain from the cold by acknowledging others gripping tightly onto their only hope, a cup of coffee, or their regret of wearing Toms as they walk through snow.

At one point I thought I was alone in my case of the Winter Blues, until I recently watched somebody walk into school wearing a summery, perfectly white pair of pants. If she can’t follow the “no white after Labor Day” rule in January, then I am certainly not the only one sick of this season. This got me thinking — why do I hate this grueling season and what makes it so awful for my classmates and I?

Class periods, days and weeks seem long and unending. Most of my awake time outside of school is spent in the dark. To be exact, during wintertime, I spend 72 percent of the day’s sunlight in a classroom. I usually associate light with optimism and happiness, and dark is the exact opposite. But with this mindset, nothing is going to go my way.

Each day my Twitter and Instagram news feeds are more and more filled with countdowns until spring break, summer and birthdays. If I’m being honest, I am guilty of this myself. In winter, we seem to lose our patience and ability to live for the moment. By always looking forward in time, we forget that we are wishing away the best times of our lives. Constantly we are losing sight of living for now rather than the uplifting, warm weather.

Winter seems to have an invisible weight on all of us. If it isn’t finals, it’s car trouble. If it isn’t car trouble, it’s not having any in-season fruits to eat. Ongoing daydreams of carefree, relaxing days in the sun haven’t ameliorated my winter depression; I wonder in awe how we’re only halfway through the year.

As a tribute to myself I’m going to try to embrace these last few months of goose bumps and hot chocolate. I often forget just how curable my goose bumps are as I sit under a blanket in a heated house. But no, I won’t change my lock-screen from a picture of an ocean sunset.

Before we know it, spring will be in full blossom. Brown, dead-like trees will sprout multiple colors and the invisible weight will slowly rise. Mind wandering in class will shift from warm blankets and lattes to sunny, summer days by the pool. Suddenly, we’ll get that extra gas to keep on chuggin’. But in reality, if this is our biggest problem, then life ain’t so bad.