TEEN TALK
by Evan Baumel
Winter in Florida
Do you want to go on a sleigh ride? How about wrapping your blanket around yourself near the fireplace? Or maybe you want to have a snowball fight in your backyard. Oh, wait! You can’t…you live in South Florida. Evan Baumel is a senior at Wellington High School. He’s involved in Debate, National Honor Society, Key Club, politics and writes for the school newspaper.
Yes, it’s that time of year again. Forty-eight out of fifty states will experience (or have experienced) prolonged periods of winter-like weather. In those states, shoveling the snow off the driveway will be a common routine. Christmas songs will be played for the 100,000,000th time. Only two states will be denied the scenic winter wonderland: Hawaii and Florida.
While Hawaii is self explanatory (hint: it’s a tropical island), Florida is the only mainland state without a real winter season. This bestows the Sunshine State both advantages and disadvantages. Here in So Flo we seem to have only two types of climate: hot (summer) and not-so-hot (winter). While people in other states are starting to wear two, three, or even four layers of clothing, we’re wearing a sweater and jeans. I thought of an analogy to describe this absurdity, “winter in Florida is like summer in Antarctica.”
Snow itself is somewhat of a marvel for me. I have only seen it once in my life, and that occurred ten years ago. I remember arriving in Lee, Massachusetts and marveling at the mountainous snow-covered landscape. When I stepped outside, I was covered in thick clothing, so I do not recall feeling the freeze. During that trip, I threw my first snowball and learned to ski down a small hill. But, after a week, I was very happy to come home to warm, sunny Florida.
The climate down here makes it a premiere tourist destination. “Snowbirds” rent apartments and condos during the winter season to avoid the frigid weather in states like New York, Massachusetts and Maine. In addition, the Village of Wellington benefits from its warm location and hosts the Winter Equestrian Festival, boosting our local economy and putting Wellington “on the map.”
Let’s look at the bright side. For teens, wintry weather is a chance to wear the long sleeve shirts stored in the back of the closet. We’re also blessed with the fact that we don’t have to shovel the snow in front of the house. Also, winter time is an opportunity to see relatives who come down to thaw out. Personally, I enjoy the opportunity to relax during the December school break.
If any of you are planning to go to college out of state, consider the weather. Give some thought as to whether or not you’ll be able to adjust. Both of my siblings adapted pretty quickly to colleges up north and found they actually enjoyed the change of seasons, at least most of the time.
I wish everyone a happy holiday season. Try to take advantage of the upcoming equestrian events and all that Wellington has to offer. I’ll see you in the year 2010.