Photo by Michael 1952 via Flickr
Ariel Weinstein/Staff Writer
Living in Miami, it’s all about soaking up the sun, hitting the beach, and getting your tan on year round.
I personally love the way the sand feels beneath my feet, laying on the beach and swimming in the ocean, being surrounded by palm trees and seagulls.
When it comes to Florida, it isn’t even just about the beach. Florida is called the sunshine state for a reason, and that reason is pure warmth.
People from such a tropical climate like Miami, do not realize the issues and struggles northerners such as myself go through every winter.
Growing up in Massachusetts, I have seen winter at its finest, its most beautiful and its not so greatest.
When I came to Miami, I found it absolutely fascinating that some people did not even know what snow pants were. Then I realized if they didn’t know what snow pants were, they most likely didn’t have a clue as to what winter is all about.
Yes, snow is beautiful and fluffy and everyone hopes for white Christmases. However, it is not always a winter wonderland as the movies portray it to be.
With snow and cold weather comes endless struggles. For example, turning the heat on itself can cost you a crazy amount of money. This is why in my house for example, we sleep with sweatshirts, winter coats, and multiple blankets, topped off with however many stuffed animals and pillows you have on the bed too, just to make it that much warmer. Then hopefully, one of the dogs will hop into bed and create more warmth.
If you think bedtime sounds like a process, the morning isn’t that much better. First, you have to wake up an extra half an hour early just to start your car, so it can warm up and defrost the engine, windshield wipers, and everything else the car needs to function with. Then, if you take a shower, you need to make sure your hair is completely dry or else it will literally freeze and harden when you walk outside.
Walking outside is a struggle in itself as well. First off, if you can open the door without icicles falling on your head, you are already in good shape. Then, you need to make sure there is sand on the front step, and the walkway to the car, so you don’t slip on the ice.
If there’s too much snow, you won’t be able to back the car out of the drive way, so you’ll need to grab the shovel or snow blower and shovel your way out of the driveway. Once you’re finally in the car, double check you have a small hand broom to wipe the windshield when you get back into the car so you can see.
These problems are only a few of many. Temperature alone can leave soft healthy hands cracked, dry, and even cut.
I remember in high school when my hands would be so cold they would turn purple and numb, and the only way to do homework and write would be to take a heat lamp and put it directly over my hands, so they could defrost and I could move them.
In general, I feel southerners don’t realize how good they have it. Not that I don’t appreciate the seasons or the first snowfall of the year, and snowfall after that, but I feel mother nature gives northerners many more obstacles during the winter seasons, than she does southerners, who have hardly heard of snow pants.