I spent the earlier part of this week at a work retreat in Ithaca, NY. While preparing for the trip I only packed warm weather clothing. While I knew I would indoors much of the time, the bone-chilling cold of upstate NY frightens me. And as usual, the weather did not disappoint. On Tuesday morning I woke up to a winter wonderland. The snow was beautiful and peaceful– never words I would associate with NYC snowfall. Nonetheless, I could not help but wonder, how do students survive in Ithaca. It was not only colder than NYC it also seemed darker and all around more depressing. While I sometimes wonder what it would be like to live in a more rural environment, I felt very grateful to live in NYC, where streetlights, people and all around hustle and bustle makes the winters much more bearable in comparison.