The facilities team cleaned the campus sidewalks really well. If you still think it’s slippery, you probably just need to wear a pair of winter boots instead of sneakers. You complain about it being cold outside, but then you go outside in a thin coat worn over a T-shirt. We are not in Florida, it’s Ohio, so welcome to How to Dress Warm 101.

My Credibility

My school was six miles away. For nine years, I would spend about an hour every day getting back home, no matter the weather. No, your parents don’t typically pick you up from school in Ukraine. I had to walk for 20 minutes, wait for a bus, take the bus and then walk for 10 more minutes. I went to school on freezing days, too. (FYI, the Ukrainian climate is similar to Ohio’s.)

Luckily, my mom taught me how to dress properly. My family called it “dressing like a cabbage”; the more typical name is layering. As easy as it sounds, you have to wear multiple layers of clothes.

I wear leggings under my jeans. I wear a long-sleeve shirt under my sweater. I don’t have thermals, but if you do, this is the time to take them out of your dresser. If I get warm inside, I simply take my sweater off. Consider investing in a warm winter coat or a puffer. Do not fall for consumerist influence. One good coat can serve you for years.

I don’t like wearing hats, but I always throw my hood on when it’s cold or windy. Protect your ears and head — there is a brain inside, and we don’t want it to freeze when you need it the most.

If the snow is attacking you in the face, a scarf can save you. Wrap it around your neck, covering your mouth and your nose. If you don’t have gloves, keep your hands inside your pockets. Protect your lips with lip balm. Dear men, this applies to you, too. Feb. 14 is coming up — you don’t want to kiss your Valentine with chapped lips, do you?

Lastly, don’t be dramatic — an average walk around campus takes less than 10 minutes. Commuters, I’m sorry about the parking lots. Feel free to complain.

Changing Attitude 

If you can’t change the situation, change your attitude. If you can’t raise the temperature, melt snow and summon the sun, then dress appropriately and find joy in this weather. How lucky are you to see this much snow? Isn’t it beautiful? Take your friends out after classes — go build a snowman, have a snow fight, make snow angels, go sledding (but please don’t listen to people telling you to steal trays from Convo to use as sleds).

There is one more thing that stops me from complaining about the weather — I know it could be worse. The weather in Ukraine is no warmer than in Ohio right now. The difference, though, is that Russia is deliberately targeting my country’s energy infrastructure, making people freeze in their own homes.

My parents live in a relatively safe city. After Russian attacks on a nearby power plant, they didn’t have electricity for 15 hours a day for a week. There are cities attacked much more often, and residents don’t have electricity at all while it’s 10 degrees outside. Without power, people can’t prepare food unless they have gas stoves. They don’t have tap water, and it gets so cold inside that you can see steam coming off your mouth as you talk. You can’t shower. You brush your teeth with bottled water in a dark bathroom, shaking from the cold, with a flashlight as your only light source.

I’ve been through a similar experience in late fall 2022. I lived in a university dorm in Lviv, where everything relied on electricity, which I didn’t have for eight to 12 hours a day. It was so cold I was shivering no matter how many sweaters I put on. But this winter has been the worst so far for Ukrainians, with the cruelty of Russian attacks only increasing.

So no matter how cold it is in Ohio, I wake up grateful that I live in a warm dorm, can make myself some hot tea and have a decent breakfast.

Be grateful for what you have.

To end on a positive note, remember that it’s going to be cold only for a few more weeks — and then guess what? Spring will come.