Think back to the first few weeks of school. You were probably just recovering from summer break, relishing the sweet taste of freedom after being stuck in your parents’ basement or being active in a summer job or internship for four months. Once school started, students had time to spend a few hours at Black Rocks cliff jumping or swimming in Lake Superior. But the seeming freedom of a blissful, early-semester lifestyle — when the sun is still shining, temperatures are still reasonably warm and dips in Superior can be had between classes — soon fades following just a few weeks of academia.

And then, before we know it, it’s late fall. Seven weeks after the bliss of late summer, and it’s all sleet, slush and that other ‘s’ word — snow.

Monday morning I woke up to that unfortunate sight out my window. Snow. Depressing? Yes. Even though many students probably hurried outside and enjoyed the occasion on Monday morning, I rolled my eyes and went back to bed.

Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve lived in Marquette for 13 years. Or perhaps it’s the fact that 70 degree weather is now at least 6 months, or 24 weeks, or 169 days away. Either way, I’ve come to a conclusion: fall semester is superior to winter semester. Also, anybody not originally from the Upper Peninsula cannot call themselves a Yooper for at least three winters. And there are ways to get out of the rut of winter.

Let me explain.

The weather here is completely nonsense.

Hot. Cold. Hot. Cold.

It sucks. It’s 50, then it’s 30, then it’s 80, then it’s 12. Next thing you know…it’s snowing. And I can’t take it. The sun is shining but there’s a breeze so it’s cold. Make up your damn mind mother nature. Have you heard of thundersnow? I have. It’s as real as your mom’s cooking.

I can no longer walk outside without a jacket, and I have to resort to the heavy black winter boots that reach almost up to my knees as I lug around the yard. I have to close my window at night when I go to bed. My morning commute to school will consist of me freezing in my car listening to tasteless pop music while my hands are frozen to the wheel — only to discover that my car heater would actually start blowing out warm air as soon as I reach my destination.

But fall semester isn’t so bad right? We do have the fall colors …for maybe 3 days. Until the gale winds of November come around. Then all we get are barren twigs and gray branches for the rest of the year.

Maybe that’s what I’m missing. I sense of light. A ball of light. The sun. Without it people tend to develop conditions associated with the winter “blahs”. Lack of sleep coupled with gloomy skies can make most anyone feel down in the dumps.

So what can be done to boost morale during the long and strenuous winter semester? Get into a rhythm and stick to it. Wake up on time frame. Have some time to blow off. Go to the PEIF, jump in the pool, hit up the sauna, go enjoy Marquette Mountain (when it opens…), join that club at NMU that you’ve always wanted to, or start your own.

Along with that, try and plan when you’re classes will be. Nobody likes 8 a.m. classes, so try and schedule after 9 a.m. (unless, of course, you’re really into waking up early). Why is this? Your body will have an easier time adjusting to the suns schedule rather than going to bed when it’s dark and waking up when it’s dark as well. Leave yourself enough time to slowly adjust waking up in the morning. Think like a sunrise. Your mind will thank you later.

Maybe I’ve just lived here for too long and have become accustomed to the changing season so much so that it doesn’t affect me as much — maybe I’ve gotten into a rhythm. But until I can jump back into Lake Superior and snorkel around in the water…I’m frozen. I’ll let that thought thaw out.