It can get really cold here. I know this probably isn't news to anyone, and after three New Hampshire winters, it shouldn't be to me. But I must admit I forgot just how cold it could be. It's the kind of weather that makes me want to climb under a heavy blanket and hibernate, until, oh, about May 15 or so. And my winter term grades have always reflected this Texas-bred intolerance for the weather; unlike some of my friends who eagerly anticipate afternoons on the slopes, I have found myself buckling down at the beginning of winter, hitting the books with a vengeance, and trying (somewhat successfully, I suppose) to forget about the world beyond my room. Now, don't get me wrong; I don't hate the winter; one of my primary reasons for coming here was the beauty of the winter, and I came ready to face the elements. But I wasn't totally prepared for all that this term tends to bring.
Winter term provides the perfect excuse to focus on ourselves. To pull inside our steam-heated cocoons, wrap ourselves in layers of insulated clothing, and avoid eye contact with the people whose paths we cross. I laugh now, out of sheer embarrassment, to think of how many people I have misidentified during midwinter treks across the Green. In part because in our padded, hooded jackets, we begin to look the same, but mainly because it's too darned cold to hold our heads up high, expose our cozy necks, and risk getting even more uncomfortable than we already are. Yes, it can get a little chilly here, as we begin to focus a little more closely on keeping ourselves safe and warm and a little less on looking beneath the layers that cover the people and the landscape around us.
But what if we could pipe in a little heat to Hanover at this time of year? Don't worry, we won't melt the snow, and your dorm room won't get any warmer. All you have to do is add a little passion to your life. Not romantic passion, but something you're passionate about. It can be anything.
For me, it's children; anyone who knows me well had better have a tolerance for listening to stories about kids, because I could discuss them for hours. There's so much about them that fascinates me, and there's so much about the lives of children I know we could improve. In the past few winters, it's been too easy at this time of year to lose sight of my commitments, focus on my schoolwork, and forget about the problems I am usually so intent on solving. It's not the lack of sunlight, or even the cold, really; it's just that tests and papers and reading and meetings begin to take on an unexpected significance when life seems a little more restricted than usual. But these problems, like many, continue and even intensify in the winter; I just stopped looking at them, because it was too cold to take anything but the shortest distance between two points.
Finding a passion -- something to think about, care about, worry about, laugh about, and cry about -- and acting on it, can provide an energy which otherwise might be lacking this winter. We may have to pull off a layer or two, expose a little more of ourselves, cut through our extra internal and external insulation, go a little out of our ways, and take the risk of a real human connection in the process. So, it might be a little cold at first. But when the sparks ignite and unite, we will have brought a little warmth to our world this winter. Go ahead, turn up the heat.
