Liliana Ciraulo

Clothing is one of the most important components of being comfortable and happy during winter. Before coming to Dartmouth, I didn’t understand how to layer properly and assumed that the task would be fairly intuitive—I was wrong. Thankfully, my roommate was from the midwest and knew a thing or two about adequate layering when the weather is below freezing. 

The first layer is a base layer. I usually wear a long sleeve t-shirt, and sometimes long underwear-style pants if it’s really cold. Next, I wear a sweater, sweatshirt, hoodie, fleece, pullover, etc…you get the gist. The final layer is your coat! A good coat goes a long way. I have a shorter white coat as well as a longer black coat (pictured) for the super cold days.

After layering clothing, it’s time to add accessories. During winter term I am never without a hat or earmuffs! If your head is warm, you’re set. Gloves, mittens, and scarves are helpful if it’s really cold, but I am guilty of not wearing these as much as I should. Finally, snow boots or tennis shoes that have a good grip. You don’t want to slip on the ice during winter, so finding good footwear is crucial!

Okay, now you’re dressed for the day. Now what? Time to get some valuable daylight hours in! During winter term, the sun sets at around 4pm. This means that sometimes you’ll leave an afternoon class and it’ll be pitch black out! When I first experienced this, I was so sad—but an easy solution is to wake up earlier and spend more time in the daylight. If you’re not able to do so, then I strongly recommend investing in a sunlight lamp to get adequate vitamin D! At home, I’m used to the sun being out for much longer, and I found that turning on my sunlight lamp made me feel better during the shorter daylight hours.

It can be really difficult to get up and outside when it’s freezing. When I didn’t want to go outside, my friends were my main source of energy and encouragement—I don’t know what I would have done without them during the term!

Which leads me to my next point… having fun with friends! One of the coolest experiences I had during winter term was ice skating on Occom Pond. When the pond freezes over, students can rent ice skates for free from the DOC (Dartmouth Outing Club) house, located right on the edge of campus. I went with two friends who knew how to ice skate and were willing to teach me. Although I was nervous, I had so much fun. I still can’t skate unless I’m holding onto an upside-down trash can, but laughing with my friends about my terrible form was way more fun.

Winter weather can make some feel alone or sad, so it’s extra important to reach out to friends and participate in activities together. Even if it seems cheesy, you won’t regret it.