Life Advice

Hi everyone!As we near the end of these two weeks before winter break, I've answered some questions about winter term, Exeter and life in general!Is winter term as bad as everyone makes it out to be?Winter term doesn’t have to be bad if you have a good attitude about it!! There's no doubt the cold, the short days and the homework can make winter term feel a little suffocating at times, but how you get through it really depends on your mindset. I’ve found that having things you look forward to every day or every week can really help when winter term starts to feel really dreary. It can be planning an outing to Portsmouth to get dinner and go shopping with your friends or it can be something as simple as curling up in your bed and watching a movie after check-in on a Friday night. Whatever you decide to do, I think having anything to look forward to can really help when it gets tough to get through a week.How do you deal with people getting into college/ not getting into college?For many seniors, these last few weeks have been pretty stressful. Most early application decisions have come out in these past couple of days, so naturally people have heard good news and bad news. If you have friends that are into college, congratulate them!! This is super exciting time and your friends will appreciate being able to share that with you! If you have friends that didn’t get into where they applied early, be there to support them. It can be really tough to hear news you didn't want to hear, but letting your friends know you’re there for them can be really helpful while trying to work through this process. It doesn’t feel great to get bad news, but you can remind your friends that if it didn’t work out, it means something better was meant to happen. Ultimately, everyone is going to end up where they’re meant to be, so I think during this time it’s important to stay positive and remind other people of that, but also make sure you keep it in mind for yourself too!Do I need a date for winter formal?If you are new to Exeter, Winter Formal is a semi formal dance held during the first weeks back at school after Christmas break. Although it’s technically a “formal,” no one is under any kind of obligation to show up with a date. Having a date is totally fine too, but you shouldn't feel any pressure to find one. Most people go with their friends and once you’re in the dance everybody has fun together! It's a fun event if you decide to go with just one person and it’s great if you just want to hang with your group of friends. Either way, there isn’t any pressure to go to Winter Formal in general or with anyone in particular.What’s the best way to protect yourself against the elements during the winter?I would say it’s definitely worth it to invest in some winter boots! Facilities does an amazing job of keeping the paths clear throughout the winter, but it can get pretty icy around campus during January and February, so it  is good to have on shoes that have good traction. Boots keep your toes warm too!! I also suggest getting a cozy jacket. Sometimes having a big  puffy jacket isn’t always the most “fashionable” thing, but I promise you will forget all about fashion if you’re freezing because you don’t have on warm enough clothes! Lastly, I think having a pair of gloves or mittens is really important. It can get really windy towards the middle of the winter and I’m definitely much happier when I can feel my fingers.Good luck to everyone with the next few days and I hope you all have a wonderful break! We’re almost there!Love,Bella <3