The Chicagoland winter: feared by many and, supposedly, survived by few. As a freshman not from the immediate area, I have noticed upperclassmen tend to hype up the negatives of Winter Quarter to an extreme degree (almost as extreme as the temperature outside right now). I have been led to believe that not only will I freeze to death during Winter Quarter, but that I will also be absolutely miserable the entire time. Winter Quarter is said to be something everyone should just try to “get through,” but honestly we all need to acknowledge the few positives of living in Chiberia. There is something so magical (and also mildly hilarious) about these 10 weeks at Northwestern.

First off, I personally find the winter outfitting of the NU student body to be hysterical. Every morning, I watch students walking down Sheridan in ski masks looking like bank robbers, and I cannot help but giggle a little bit despite my shivers. Also, the fact that a flock of Canadian Geese seem to descend upon campus every winter fascinates me, especially during sorority rush, when there is a flock of approximately 600 girls all equipped in a black (and the occasional red or grey) parka, almost as if they were all headed to a massive dogsledding convention. Finally, a quick check-in on campus footwear trends — when L.L. Bean boots and what looks like many variations of North Face hiking boots are the most stylish shoes on campus, I think we all need to take a step back and laugh at how well prepared (out of pure, unadulterated fear) our campus is as a whole.

Another positive of Winter Quarter is the opportunity to make your friend circle a bit more closely knit. During Fall Quarter, everyone is always going in a billion different directions — to games, clubs, libraries, meetings (So. Many. Meetings), Chicago and parties. By week two (after we have all recovered from the fantastic fiasco that is Wildcat Welcome), it becomes unbelievably difficult to get everyone in the same place at the same time. However, during Winter Quarter, it is just too cold outside to do anything but chill with your friend group and maybe attempt to dig yourself out of the inevitable homework grave we all fall into, but that will never happen. Winter Quarter challenges us to entertain ourselves with our friends instead of the million different activities we all overcommit to, and honestly I think it brings our campus closer than we would be otherwise.

Finally, I know we all hate to admit it, but Winter Quarter is beautiful. While it can sometimes be as horrible as an orgo final, I challenge you to find anything more beautiful than Deering Library in a fresh layer of snow or anything more peaceful than walking at night as the snowflakes drift down from the sky and the lights twinkle on the trees.

Winter Quarter is both a blessing and a curse. The most dreaded time of the year brings not only nightmare-inducing temperature drops, but also closer friendships, hilarious wardrobe experiences and a campus that can sometimes be too pretty to handle. So stay warm out there, Wildcats, and please take a moment to stop posting hate-yaks on winter for just a second to appreciate how special this time can truly be.

Emily Roney is a McCormick freshman. She can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected].