Icy and barren winter landscape looks like eminent death. The dramatization of that statement is due to my hatred for the cold and the fact that I look like a baby deer walking on the ice. So from Thanksgiving to the New Year, I feel the need to hibernate. This year was no exception. The winter chill hasn’t just nipped, it bit hard. But even through all the bitterness I have toward the cold weather, the season of giving, joy, cheer and hot chocolate with extra marshmallows make the winter a little better.

However, the cold nights seem to be the only remnant of the holiday season. While on break, I enjoyed my hometown’s glow of the holiday season. There were Christmas lights in the park and garland draped on each streetlight. The old store window fronts were painted with winter scenes and holiday greetings. Even the local Dairy Queen, known for their flavored fountain sodas, handed out Christmas cards with coupons for a free ice cream cone or soda to those of us they consider loyal customers. Neighbors shoveled sidewalks for others and community members experienced pay-it-forward acts from strangers.

The overall mood of winter is typically cold, bitter and bare, but the holiday cheer makes the season much warmer. Seeing the smiles and charity of others makes the world a better place.

Though I am not one for resolutions, mostly because I am not a fan of change, I feel as the after-Christmas slump worsens, change is necessary. After all, the holiday season is “merry and bright” not because of the gifts and feasts, but because people go out of their way to put a smile on another’s face.

Since the best part of the season is the state of mind people have around the holidays, imagine what society would be like with if individuals portrayed the Christmas spirit throughout the year. If you don’t already have a New Year’s resolution, take it upon yourself to make the entire winter season a little more bearable with kindness and charity.

Just because the holiday season is over, doesn’t mean winter has to give us the blues.

Column by Hunter Harrell, Features Editor