It’s winter break for University of Oregon students, and love, joy and all things good are in the air. Or maybe that’s just rain. I admit, the impending winter season is often met with mixed emotions. It’s cold, dark and wet. Seasonal depression looms above like a cloud of gray, and the return home is only really fun for those who peaked in high school. Still, there is much to celebrate, and no time is better to feel both thanks and cheer than the winter season.
First and foremost on the list of winter’s cause for celebration: snow. It is almost always just a short drive away, and to those who live further south, this isn’t for you — go to a beach or something. Anyway, if you have the opportunity to play in some snow over break, take it. Sledding, skiing, snowman-building — the slight frostbite is worth it all. For those who prefer to keep indoors, movie marathons, board games and gingerbread houses await you. Winter is the perfect time to reunite with the hobbies you love and participate in basic, annual activities.
Participating in seasonal festivities is grounding. It connects you to the world outside and allows for people to become more in touch with their own traditions each season. To those who celebrate holidays like Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s: go all out. Decorate, dress up, bake and enjoy yourself. In a string of difficult months mid-pandemic, any reason to celebrate is worthy. Spend time with loved ones safely and take time to reconnect with yourself and your traditions — or even try something new.
The giving spirit of the winter season often demands to be felt — thank you capitalism for gifting us all with the commercialization of Christmas — and privilege and presents alike are on the minds of many. The holiday season can be especially stressful when struggling financially and especially difficult when experiencing change or loss. Still, there is something bittersweet about the season’s call for empathy, something many could agree the world needs more of. Winter is as good a time as any to lend help to those in need and give back to the community that has given so much to you.
Winter is also an opportune time for personal reflection, because in a way, it feels like the world is joining you. The Pacific Northwest is never more itself than now — gray-clouded skies, rain-slicked streets hung with fog, marble-capped blue mountains and evergreens all find their peak in the winter. The year comes to an arbitrary end and the world seemingly enters an unspoken and much needed hibernation. Time moves slower, despite dark setting in sooner. To me, this is what makes the PNW feel like home. There is comfort in the cold. There is familiarity in stinging ear lobes, hands that burn when washed and in breath that blows like smoke. There is gratitude for becoming warm again — for layers, for blankets, for a bed.
Take time this break to reflect, have fun and be kind to yourself and others. Students returning home for break may confront a number of unfortunate realities: working minimum wage amid Christmas-shopping warriors, pleading with parents over curfews, living in Portland — the list goes on. Jokes aside, there is much to be grateful for as a college student, and nothing highlights blessings quite like winter. I hope those reading find time this break to enjoy all that this change of season has to offer.