Dear cold weather,

By: Grace Bocking

On behalf of all students, I would like to commend you for your impeccable timing. You somehow managed to coordinate your arrival with the start of a new semester, and I couldn’t think of a better way of welcoming us back if I tried. Truly, nothing motivates me to jump back in to school more than the promise of blistering winds in my face. It’s just what I need to get me out of bed in the morning.

For a while there, I had been convinced that you weren’t planning on showing up at all. I had spent the break mitten-less and with my coat unzipped, so you can imagine how overjoyed I was to learn of your sudden return. I always did like that about you, your spontaneity. There really is no better surprise than being caught in -15 degree weather without a hat or gloves. After all, nothing can beat that moment of pure bliss when your extremities finally lose all feeling. Sure, the first few pages of my lecture notes may not be entirely legible because my fingers were still in the process of thawing, but it’s not like I had anything better to do than rewrite them when I got home.

While some like to complain about the chill in the air, I can only revel in the many joys it brings to my everyday existence. I’d have to say that one of my favourite things about you, cold weather, is the eternally drippy nose you cause. Sniffles are the unofficial sound of the season—a symphony that echoes through every lecture hall for four to five months each year. I mean really, there is no more pleasant sight than that of a floor littered with discarded tissues. And if a nose that runs like a faucet wasn’t enough to warm me to the cold, the copious amount of clothing I have to layer on before venturing outside definitely did the trick. I had been searching for an excuse to wear that hideous-yet-undeniably warm sweater I had been given for Secret Santa this year, and now I have the perfect opportunity.

So, cold weather, I am glad to have been able to take this brief moment to give you the appreciation that you truly deserve. The fact of the matter is that you can only last for so long. We likely only have three more months of you left to enjoy – four, if we’re lucky.  Time flies when you’re freezing, so please, stick around for as long as you’d like.

Signed,

Winter’s number one fan