With December quickly approaching most residents of northern states, or even residents of north Texas, have already experienced snow and low temperatures. This is not applicable to all of Texas, since some parts of the state have the chance to see 90 degrees Fahrenheit in December. For a lot of Texas residents, the weather leading up to the end of the year can get rather nasty. This includes a mix of freezing rain, heavy wind, slush on the roads and drastic temperature changes in a single day. Most residents of North America can’t imagine the holiday season without low temperatures or even snow. The idea of a white Christmas has been pushed on me since I was a child by main-stream media and big block buster movies. The Home Alone series was one of the biggest examples of this. I grew up in a part of Texas where we did not get snow, so as a child I was slightly disappointed. Looking back, I now believe I was more disappointed by the weather that we did get. I got the chance to experience a significant snowfall only once in my 23 years and it wasn’t even on Christmas. It actually occurred on Easter weekend, I can’t remember the exact year, but I know I was around 10 or 11 years old. I remember running outside and being absolutely horrified by how cold my hands got. It felt like the muscles in my hands had frozen the moment I stepped out of my house. I also lost my phone in the snow when it fell out of my jacket pocket, I did find it and surprisingly the snow didn’t melt inside of it. To say the least my most prominent snow day memory is not the greatest. My favorite cold weather day memory was the time in elementary school, where we all piled into the library, watched The Polar Express and drank hot chocolate. I also remember how when I was a kid if it rained the night before and it was freezing that morning, they would delay school by a couple of hours. As a kid who had to wake up at 5 a.m. to catch the bus, those extra few hours of sleep on a cold day were the best. I was always the first kid on the bus and sitting in that unheated bus, for two hours, during the winter was the worst. Winter for me does not often mean that I get to spend the days inside curled up in a blanket. I wish that I could stay inside all winter, but I have a few responsibilities that require me to work outside all year round. I have also experienced a few plain bad luck situations, where I had to be outside in the horrible weather. I still have troubles with my hands getting too cold and cramping up. As I get older my allergies have also begun bothering me more in the fall and winter. With all of this being said I do not enjoy the cold weather. I feel like Texas gives its residents the exact opposite of the Hollywood ideal cold weather. We get the wet frigid weather that makes it hard to look at the bright side of things. The worst days for me are when if it was just a few degrees colder we would get snow but instead the sky is gray, my nose feels like it’s frozen over and if you turn the heater on inside of your house it feels like a sauna. It’s worse when the next day it’s nearing 70 degrees Fahrenheit outside and my allergies are acting up because the weather can’t stay consistent. On the bright side this year I can wear my mask outside to keep my nose warm. This doesn’t work for very long, however, because after a little bit the humidity starts to accumulate inside of the mask. I would like to find a mask that does not get soaked when worn outside in the cold and humid environment that Texas gives its residents during the winter. With COVID-19 running as rampant as it is I am also worried about a spike in cases. Fall and winter are flu season and with the symptoms of flu, COVID-19 and a common cold being so similar, someone could be infected with COVID-19, but assume they only had a cold. This could lead to a high spike in cases because not everyone is being as cautious as they should be. Please wash your hands, wear a mask and stay home if you feel sick. Tarleton offers free COVID-19 testing for students and staff who have been exposed to someone with symptoms or is experiencing symptoms themselves. To get tested or if you have questions please call the Tarleton Health Services line at 254-968-9271.