Music: 1 AM (Snowy) From Animal Crossing: New Leaf
tip: CTRL+SHIFT+R if things look off.
Listen.
I grew up in the Midwest part of the US, a place that's pretty much always humid. We always used to get pretty warm summers followed by a chilly fall and a cold winter. And I liked that! I've always been much more of a person who prefers the cold over the heat. In humid places, as long as you have a good winter coat, hat, and gloves on, you'll be fine in the cold. Hot days are torture though since it always feels like you're melting, the air is sweltering, and it just generally saps the energy from you, making summers feel almost lethargic. At least in the winter you had some control over how hot or cold you wanted to be.
Still though! I love wearing winter coats. I've stuck with a nice black jacket for around 6 years at this point. It says it's a Small but it still fits me, someone who wears Large shirts (though it can be a little tight around the waist sometimes). It has little extra sleeves that also act as a sort of fingerless glove, with a hole to put your thumb through. It's got lots of pockets, like a LOT of pockets. When I got it initially, it had a removable hood that I immediately lost, but I didn't care at that point. It's got a really nice collar that'll protect my neck from the cold too. In general it just feels really comfortable to wear. It's my comfort jacket, and I wouldn't trade it for the world (literally-- I tried looking for a replacement jacket in a larger size, but I couldn't find it anywhere). I love wearing gloves, especially ski gloves (same deal as the jacket-- I've had a specific pair for years). Hats are kinda eh for me but they're still nice to wear now and again. I love being in the car for such a long time that you have to take off your coat, and then when you're at your destination, you use the leftover heat from the car to help you walk to where you want to go before you get cold again. I love the blast of cold you get from opening the door in the morning only for it to be ~25 degrees fahrenheit outside. I love the fact that there aren't any bugs around due to the cold. I love the fact that you can see your breath. I... am honestly not the biggest fan of my fingers and toes being the first things to get cold, with the gloves losing their effectiveness over time, but hey, nobody's perfect. I just.... really love winter, man.
which is why global warming is such a bitch.
Fall is coming and going, and it has only NOW gotten to the point where it is consistently 60 degrees outside. For the bulk of September and October, we still had temperatures in the 80s and 90s. As someone who can't stand temperatures above 80, that SUCKS.
And it shouldn't be this way! It wasn't always this way! The transition to winter used to be considerably more smooth. I remember it being consistently in the 30s in November, for one thing. Most of the time at this point, November will languish in the 50s and 60s! Happened last year and it'll happen again. Me and my dad would always go to a certain ski resort every year (usually around winter/christmas time) and last year was the FIRST year they had to cease operations for Christmas due to it being too warm! CHRISTMAS WAS SPENT WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE 60s!!! THIS IS NOT NORMAL!!!!!
Winter is becoming an endangered species. It is a dwindling population. They moved to predominantly December, then January, and perhaps at some point, it'll morph into something that only happens in February. I could move north, but moving would mean largely abandoning everything I've grown attached to in my hometown. But as it stands, I'm left to watch the state I live in slowly morph into Florida, with brutal summers and mild winters. I wish I could share the enthusiasm of my winter-dreading friends, who have probably been rejoicing for the past few years, but I can't handle the heat.
It's an interesting dichotomy, isn't it? At the same time I'm growing up, the winters I've been looking forward to every year are fading, in a way. the warming globe works to create a barrier between me and my younger self, in a way. It's growing up taken to a logical extreme, in a way.
I don't know, maybe I'm just complaining about something for no reason. Maybe I'm just preaching to an empty choir. Maybe this experience is the least of anyone's worries right now. Still, it's important to me.
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