Last winter was possibly one of the largest letdowns of my time in Boone.
A couple of snowfalls and a little bite in the air was all we got, and I couldn’t have been more disappointed.
Where were all the huge snows that coated the campus in a massive blanket that usually awarded a day or two of cancelled classes?
There were about three snows last year that were child’s play for anybody who has lived through any of the previous infamous winters at the university.
How many freshmen were scoffing at the paltry snow thinking they had seen the worst of it? Thinking everyone had been over exaggerating?
It was impossible last winter to explain to those newbies what really happens when snow falls in Boone.
Most new students, especially those who come from cities further east, think snowfall immediately means class cancellations and maybe some skiing or sledding.
But the problem with living in the mountains and in a town with a track record of tremendous snowstorms is that the people and the university are already prepared for the snow.
So don’t get your hopes up. Classes won’t get cancelled for a couple inches of snowfall.
When it snows in Boone, it’s not some dainty “winter wonderland.”
It’s more like “snowmaggedon” – bordering on “ice apocalypse.”
With the way the weather looks now, I wouldn’t be surprised if snow was falling sometime in October. Already the mornings are a good 40 degrees and the nights are even worse.
My advice to anyone that is thinking they can slide through the upcoming winter months is to go ahead and start collecting your thick winter coats, fuzzy socks, knitted scarves and clunky snow boots because otherwise you’ll be slipping on black ice while freezing up the hill to your dorm.
So get ready to bundle up, Mountaineers, because my prediction is that this winter is going to take us all by surprise.
And one more thing: when you see someone fall (it’s going to happen), don’t laugh. You’ll be next.
Reule, a junior journalism and public relations major from Charlotte, is an opinion writer.