It is no secret that the weather in Oswego is abnormal and always a surprise. There will be a week in March, the middle of what could be endless snowfall, that is full of 75-degree days. We experience what could be described as a northeast monsoon season in both April and July. We get the full effect of all four seasons: freezing, snowy winter; rainy, warm spring; hot, dry summer and a chilly, beautiful fall. When and for how long we experience each season, however, is always in question.
Right now, we are in the beautiful, confusing, chilly segway from summer into winter called fall. Blue skies and green trees turn into colorful skies and fallen leaves. Instead of ice cream desserts, Grandma makes apple pies. Long, hot days are suddenly longer, chilly nights. Beach trips turn into campfires. Baseball season ends and football begins. The jam-packed drive-in scene is instead in the movie theater and romantic comedies are topped by horror films. Most significantly for students on campus, shorts, t-shirts and bathing suits turn quickly into sweaters, tight jeans and boots.
The fall wardrobe is a favorite of many. Who does not love being comfortable in sweaters, pants, flannels and various shoe choices? Not only are you comfortable, but choices of attire nearly triple with all the layers to be piled on. Students are seen in loose sweaters with jeans or covering anything with a flannel.
Or so we thought. Sure, in the morning when it is 45 or 50 degrees, a sweater or flannel topped with a jacket is perfect for the trek from the back of the parking lot to the Campus Center or Lanigan Hall. However, as you are gleefully leaving campus, free from the day’s lectures, tests and dreaded group activities, you are suddenly hit with heat exhaustion, sweating like you just ran 4 miles, desperate for that lecture hall’s tundra-feel. There is no solution. It is a paradox; either you will freeze for the first few hours of the day or overheat for the middle few hours.
Embrace that half-sleeping, robot-like walk to your first class cold and wanting more than anything to turn around and go back to your warm bed. Or, add the uninvited smell, feel and glisten of the sweat to your fall-based outfit on the walk back.
Fortunately, we only suffer through this confusion for a few measly weeks. This year, it is almost November, and our closets and body temperatures are more confused than ever, making midterm week that much more difficult.
Photo by: Taylor Woods | The Oswegonian
