“The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is, so delightful.”

This line from the famous Christmas song, “Let it Snow,” was composed over 70 years ago but still resonates with me today. Going outside into the cold is very difficult in these winter months.

North Dakota has some of the coldest winters on the planet. According to Fox News, North Dakota has had lower temperatures this winter than Antarctica. Moreover, the South Pole is known for being the coldest continent in the world.

Sadly enough, these record-breaking temperatures are not even the worst part. Mars, which is about 140 million miles away from the sun, has had warmer temperatures than the Midwest throughout these past few months. When a desolate planet is warmer than your hometown, you know it’s time to move.

Luckily this past week, our state warmed up quite a bit. Although it’s still technically freezing outside, I’ve noticed multiple people wearing shorts in this “warm” weather. To me, doing so is crazy, but at the same time it’s kind of understandable because a 50 degrees makes a noticeable difference. However, having had a few Midwest winters under my belt, I expect that it’ll be back to Antarctic-like temperatures in no time.

These weather changes are ridiculous and I am not okay with them. They are the reason why I have become somewhat of a hermit since November.

Why would I ever want to go outside and into -20 degree weather? Instead, I spend as much time as possible under my blankets trying to get warm. Once I get home after class or practice, it’s just so hard to go back outside.

This is especially hard with how far north we are, because it gets dark so much earlier here than it does even just a little further south. The sun sets around 5 p.m. right now. That leaves a good five or six hours of living in the dark every night for five months.

I used to have a social life, but these freezing temperatures and 15 mph winds have destroyed that these past couple months. Now, all I do is go to class and practice, otherwise I’m stuck inside under the blankets with the heat as high up as it can go. There is very little incentive for me to go outdoors where the air hurts my face. Wind burn and the cold air that rushes into my lungs with every inhale don’t have quite the appeal that fuzzy socks and my fluffiest blanket do.

For those of you that still brave the cold, congratulations on having the resolve to go out during these chilly spells. For those of you who are more like me, I feel your pain, and don’t worry: we only have a few more months of this bleak, torturous weather.

Jill Morton is a columnist for Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected]