First-year follies: Don’t complain about the snow, yet

I recently had an experience with an extremely long line while waiting to get my card swiped at the Commons in North Complex. The line extended from the entrance of the Commons all the way south to the doors of the Beede Bump.

Never before had I seen or been a part of such a long line to eat on campus. I had to think to myself, ‘this is for the commons, right?’

This occurrence just so happened to be on the day of the first real winter snowfall. My hometown had a late start and an early out. In Vermillion, sidewalks were slushy, and while there was not much snow on the ground, the wind was pesky.

It was no wonder why students, myself included, would want to avoid traipsing through the brisk, newfound winter weather if it was not required of us.

While standing in line, I couldn’t count the amount of times I heard people complaining about the weather. I could not say I blamed them for wanting to stay indoors, as I didn’t wish to go out into the blistering cold if I did not have to for my meal. No one wanted to walk the block to the Muenster University Center to get food.

Earlier in the day, I experienced just how strong the wind gust was when I did not skip any of my three classes. I mustered up the courage to brave the cold, telling myself things were going to get worse than this so it is really not that bad, and pleasantly reminding myself finals were fast approaching. I was not going to take a step outside of North Complex until the next morning when I really did have to get to a class.

For those students from a warmer state or country, they may have been incredibly excited for the very first snowfall. Keep in mind, that was when the temperature was in the double, not single, digits. Snow in general is thought of in a totally different light simply because of the temperature and the ice that tends to accompany it.

The sad thing to think about is it was just the tip of the iceberg. There will be many days below zero, many walks to class bundled up like Randy in “A Christmas Story,” and many more long lines to get into the Commons.

What we must focus on this winter when waiting in line or complaining about the weather, is being patient. After all, we are all being pretty patient working toward getting a degree from the university — what’s a few lines added into the mix?

Reach blogger Josie Flatgard at [email protected]