A Cold Weather Man.

I realize that I must live somewhere cold, somewhere it snows. People up here tell me that I'll get tired of it, that it really is irritating, blah blah blah, and perhaps they're right, but not right now. I love snow. It transforms wherever you are into a different place.

I like to think of U of I as three campuses: warm weather, autumn, and snow. The warm weather U of I has a pretty fun atmosphere-- lots of people on the quad flying kites, sunbathing, and playing frisbee. The campus population seems to multiply, and one can't help but notice that suddenly every girl owns at least one flattering sundress. It looks like this, basically:

The autumn U of I brings with it football games, my birthday, and Halloween, but its beauty is hit-or-miss. Champaign-Urbana can have brilliant leaves for a time, but then one big storm comes flying down the prairie, and all the leaves get blasted off the trees. No-pants make an unfortunate appearance during this time, as do a proliferation of UGG boots and North Face jackets. As you can see, it is also often wet during this time:

Snow U of I comes to clothe the barren landscape, but sadly not the no-pants. The UGGs remain, as does all the North Face. Despite these clothing tragedies, snow U of I is easily my favorite version of campus. The population appears to shrink, basketball has gotten in full swing, and everything just looks so pretty (and there's Christmas!). I'll give you two shots of this one, just because I like it more: