By Shannon Deady
A lot of people, including myself, are susceptible to the winter blues in the midst of the coldest months. As the days have grown shorter and colder, we miss the crisp days of fall and the beach days of summer more and more.
Unfortunately, the blues are more easily managed when at home than at school. Cooped up in dorm-style living leads to many versions of the so-called “TCNJ plague” running rampant, from strep throat to stomach flu.
As most freshmen do not have access to a car on campus, walking to class, the Library or Eickhoff Hall — even across a campus this small — becomes daunting and unpleasant, and getting out of bed on dark, cold mornings for 8 a.m. classes feels almost impossible.
However, for those that suffer from the winter blues, things seem to be looking up. Recent bursts of warm weather are providing students with an early taste of spring, which is unexpected in the usually bitter cold month of February.
The campus seems to have come alive as those who have been hiding under blankets in their dorm rooms while watching Netflix have put down the laptop to venture outside. Alumni Grove, a ghost town just a week ago in the winter cold, is buzzing with action as the outdoor seating fills with people taking their studies outside of the Library.
The Fitness Center becomes increasingly less crowded as students take their cardio outdoors, and the Metzger Loop and around lakes Sylva and Ceva are bombarded with walkers and runners.
Fashionistas are awarded a much-needed break from heavy winter coats and chunky sweaters and can now break out bright spring colors as midterms approach.
Everyone seems to be in a generally happier mood around campus, and this taste of spring gives those who hate the winter cold a reminder that the warmer weather they have been longing for is just around the corner.
