Getting out of bed is a choice. So is taking a shower, making some sort of breakfast, taking the train and doing ordinary tasks during the gray season of New York City. The city is far gone from the marvelous breeze surrounding the neighborhoods in spring or the golden sunsets illuminating even the darkest souls in July. After one or two weeks of leaves colored in earthy tones around Thanksgiving, the wind took it all away as if it had to hurry to bring the winter upon each one of us—as well as our seasonal depression.

It’s the season of wearing layers upon layers of clothes since the weather starts to become unbearably cold at a certain point, only to undress every time you come indoors and the heaters start to hit your body violently—an ongoing thermal shock. Where it’s too much of an effort to adorn a cute outfit to go out in the morning for school, and the most comfortable choice is the old sweatshirt hanging on a bedroom chair. A time to hear sneezes on the street and automatically lift the scarf up to your nose—as germs could spread that easily! And to make matters worse, life is just so gloomy. The absence of the golden breeze, like in the summer, made the chaotic nature of New York even more clear.

It’s no wonder why people are infected not only with the flu virus but are subjected to this melancholic feeling of unhappiness and dimness. So how do New Yorkers survive months of harsh low temperatures alongside feelings of dizziness and discomfort? How can students make life a little less insufferable while having to study for finals and work until the winter break? 

It is, in fact, a matter of choice—to battle with our own laziness and discomposure and get ready to do our tasks every day. But it is also a choice to see the beauty in what winter has brought to the city. A walk through the Winter Village at Bryant Park may warm up any heart with a very good dose of hot chocolate. Also, it is just the perfect weather to take someone on a date at The Metropolitan Museum, which stays open until 9 p.m. this month. Not to forget the greatest tradition of watching the Rockefeller Tree being lit up. But even the smallest of things are worth it to be perceived. People are much more at home right now, and this is an invitation to look back on itself and reenergize what may be unbalanced: perhaps in finances or a few relationships—maybe even love.

The truth is, it’s not the time to be hard on yourself, even with so many important things happening, like final exams. Definitively, it is a time to set the table and invite friends to come over and have a little laugh. When the nightmare of finals week is finished, the holidays come as a little gift under the tree to say “good job” for surviving through another term. Maybe there will be a lot to be proud of these last weeks of the year—only showing the beauty that comes only around this season

As a new semester approaches, there is no need to worry even if the temperature says otherwise; for spring will be just around the corner, revealing its lively patterns slowly throughout the city. The rays of sunlight cutting through the buildings, the days of only using a light jacket and the beautiful trees full of colors lined up at any park around town. And as each flower decides to bloom, we will make the same choice to get out of bed.