Winter can still be a wonderland

Global warming didn’t seem so bad back in December.

Offering a nice reminder of spring warmth, the end of 2015 was a treat. But now, students are skipping their loan-funded classes, cursing the unshoveled snow in South Oakland and praying to Punxsutawney Phil that Groundhog Day will be cloudy, hoping to escape another polar vortex.

I’m stuck wondering, what happened to the winter wonderland?

The excitement and promise of fun that snow used to bring seems to have vanished as we’ve grown older.

Not to say that students aren’t sledding near the Pete, having snowball fights or making snow angels — I’m talking about the rush felt when a classmate points out the window and yells, “Look, snow!”

Where has this feeling gone?

The fear of slipping on ice while trying to jaywalk across Forbes — not that I’m recommending such activity — has taken joy’s place. Pitt has not closed over winter weather since 2007, so it’s foolhardy to hope for snow days.

The real reason we’ve given up on the winter wonderland is because it is not a surprise. The novelty has worn off.

We’ve all had at least two decades of winter and, as we get older, it only becomes more of a burden. A tired, general dislike of winter has replaced the elation of fresh fallen snow. Winter break is over, the heating bill is shooting up — and when the pressures of college life come bearing down, the average student doesn’t want to add “try not to freeze to death” to their list of things to do.

Not long ago, I was hurriedly typing my final papers outside Hillman in my flip-flops. Today, I am hurriedly typing this article inside Hillman, painfully watching students walk face first into the blizzard that separates them from campus and home.

Our childhood friend winter has stayed past its welcome, but the relationship is salvageable. Like any friend that gets on your nerves or freezes your hair as you leave your house, reconnecting with winter takes work. Bundling up and embracing all the good it has to offer can melt the cynicism of adulthood back to the zeal of childhood.

Football playoffs, the light shows at Phipps Conservatory, hot cocoa and sledding all brighten up the season. It’s easy to curse the cold but it’s not as rewarding as making an effort to enjoy the season that we spend most of our college careers weathering.

Take that time indoors to finally do the readings you brushed off in the wake of syllabus week. The unbearable cold is a great excuse to eat the groceries you stocked up on instead of spending money on eating out. Walking to class is unpleasant, but so is your attitude after sheltering yourself from people for days on end.

This weekend, the City of Play-sponsored snowball fight took a different approach to bridging our growing hostility toward the cold by making it fun. The Cathedral Lawn provided a space for people to come together and play — something that anyone outside of organized sports has probably not done in a while. Getting ourselves worked up over something we can’t change is pointless, but getting together with friends to be creative and have fun is ageless and worth the cold.

It would be nice if the University canceled classes when the temperature is terrifying and the wind chill is deadly, but after a few weeks, 50 degrees is going to feel like global warming all over again.

It’s important to remember that there are two things you can’t avoid in Pittsburgh: overly confident Eagles fans from “just outside Philly” and a harsh winter. When the latter comes, just keep in mind that there’s a lot more good to it than bad — and if the cold is going to be unavoidable, the least you can do is make the most out of it.

Keep your chins up — but not literally, it’s pretty windy outside.

Write to Connor at ckj4@pitt.edu