Weathering Mood Swings
By Minseo Kim
Colorful charade,
Daffodils, yet is that snow?
Winter is coming…
- A confused migrant goldfinch on a tree branch next to Phillips Hall
“Pick a weather, please, Exeter, New Hampshire,” lower Ki Odums said on their way back from an advisory trip to downtown’s 7North this Tuesday morning. Their comment reflects the thoughts of many students and faculty on campus, as the Academy witnessed New Hampshire’s “weathering mood swings” for the past couple of weeks, starting with nature’s own April Fool’s prank when it began snowing in the evening of April 1st.
The days are getting longer. Seagulls are calling outside in the morning. Classes and advisories sit across campus in rings of red quad chairs under the sun to enjoy the rejuvenating weather. The New Hampshire weather forecast is predicting some clouds and rain sprinkled into the upcoming days, but nevertheless, the days have become warmer with the arrival of spring.
“The weather was so nice, it was sunny for the first time in a while and a group of friends and I got blankets and spread out on the lawn, bumped some music, laughed, and ended up making really bad and funny poetry about the trees, which looked so pretty in the early spring sunlight!” lower Kodi Lopez said of a Saturday afternoon from a few weeks back.
Some students decided to take the opportunity to explore fun outdoor activities. “When it was really warm two weeks ago, I went rock climbing outside with some people because I’m a day student. It was really nice because that was the first time I could do that since fall,” lower Nicholas Rose said. “While I love winter and snow, the last snowfall was a bit annoying because at this point I’m just ready for spring and warm weather. I’m excited for when the weather stops fluctuating like this and finally just gets steadily warmer!”
Senior Albert Chu has been making the most of the sunny days by going outdoors. “My friends and I played some unique variations of spikeball, viewed a river from a bridge and up close, stamped on anthills, and pranced around in the sunshine while solving topology problems for a math test,” he said.
Faculty and staff also relished the nice weather. “This weekend, because it was so awesome out, we actually rode up as a family to Portland, Maine,” Tennis and Squash Coach Lovey Oliff said. “We had a nice outdoor dinner at a place called Honey Paw, which was super yummy, and lots of ice cream was consumed. We also visited our new cat! We’re getting a Siberian kitten, so we met her for the first time.”
“I personally prefer colder days—snow is a lot more comfortable to me than the heat,” upper Liza McMahan reminisced. “I usually like to bundle up in lots of layers and blankets, but the sun is nice to bask in every once in a while. I went flower hunting with a friend of mine over the weekend so we can press [the flowers] later for letters—it was super fun and we explored a lot of the campus! Other than that, I also chose to eat my meals and do my work outside rather than inside, which is always nice to do.”
The weather took a turn when it began to rain then snow in the middle of last week and up to the weekend, which left many students and faculty alike confused. “I thought it was gonna rain, then the snow hit me like a pop chemistry test,” upper Georgie Venci said.
Yet, some have been spotted across campus still wearing short sleeves, shorts or general summer apparel, with a common goal of challenging the relentless weather head-first. “When it hits 60 degrees, I put away all my winter boots and shoes and took out my open toe shoes or flip flops,” Music Program Administrator Barb Darby said. “Once that happens, I cannot go back to winter shoes, regardless of the weather. It’s a psychological thing with me. I refuse to let winter weather win. So, I’m at work today, it’s snowing and I’m wearing my sandals,”
“The weather’s been a little up and down lately, don’t get me started on the snow, but the nice days we’ve had so far have been really fun. I usually eat outside with people when it’s nice out, also I dress better when it’s nice out, but right now it’s been a little windy not gonna lie. That hasn't been very fun but it’s okay when I’m in my room,” lower Grace Nivera added.
“I was in the middle of class when it started snowing, and everyone started pointing outside and saying ‘why is it snowing?’ It’s so weird, it’s April, why is it snowing?” prep Calista Lee asked.
After the past several chilly days, the weather’s risen back to hit the warm 60s, which was great news for many outdoor sports teams. Lower Tania Rana talked about tennis practice while eating Stillwell’s that the whole team got this past Tuesday. “It’s really nice, it started raining a little bit during [tennis] practice today but it was very nice, it was cooling, the floor got a little bit wet but dried oddly quickly. It’s breezy which is nice, keeps us refreshed and it’s still a good temperature. I’ve been staying a lot of the time indoors but want to go out more. My advice to Exonians: go out more, enjoy the weather, you know,” Rana said.
Upper Sava Thurber shared his own thoughts about the weather. “I think for the most part Exeter’s weather is pretty average. It’s not too hot or too cold and it’s often sunny with some clouds and wind. But, there are some days that are totally crazy, like what we experienced this past week with a 73° sunny day followed by a slushy mess,” he said.
Weather is inexplicably a large factor that influences school life. “Well I think the weather is one of the biggest indicators of the campus’ mood. When it’s warm and sunny the whole energy of Exeter changes. I find myself being more eager to go outside and socialize,” senior Audrey Yin said.
Thurber continued, explaining the other perspective regarding weather changes. “Personally, I don’t mind it, though, because it makes the standard day-to-day patterns exciting. Sure, snow in mid-April isn’t necessarily the most fun, but I do appreciate that variability because it made my day a whole lot more interesting. It challenged me to brave through the temperature in my t-shirt and shorts…It forced me to do my homework in the basement of EPAC as opposed to the library,” he said. “Essentially,” Thurber concluded, “though the weather is not always perfect or ideal, its variety and occasional irregularity causes people to break their all-too-common daily patterns.”
Hot or cold, wearing a padded parka on top of summer clothes or an overfit hoodie with a hat and sunglasses, Exeter’s weather continues to surprise unsuspecting Exonians and vary from day to day. But the one thing that has remained constant is that it won’t stop Exonians from finding ways to enjoy the warmer days and pockets of wind-free picnic perfection. Spring is coming.
