When I first heard about Hillsdale College, I didn’t know that it was located in Michigan. I visited the school for the first time in my cold-weather clothes, which wasn’t much. It was obvious that I was not prepared for such a temperature change. At the time I was wearing a coat, jeans, a scarf, and boots. I looked at myself and thought, “This is just the beginning.”
See, I’m from Arizona, we don’t have fall there. During September and October it gets slightly lower than 100 degrees and then WHOOSH! All the leaves come off at once. And it’s cold for a month. Not exactly Michigan weather, I’d say. In fact, this weather is pretty much the equivalent of our winter.
So yes, I am bundled up like a blue marshmellow because all of my senses are telling me that it’s December, when in reality it’s only October.
When I packed for college, I realized that I was totally unprepared for the temperature change. I had no boots, no “legit” cold weather coat, and about half a dozen scarves that I hardly ever wore. In my closet now are two sets of boots, a vest, a jacket, a huge down coat, about two dozen scarves, and about a thousand pairs of knee high socks. And I’ll most definitely go the bookstore and buy a Hillsdale hoodie and other apparel once it gets even colder.
So why did an Arizona girl come to what she thought was the equivalent of the Arctic Circle?
Hillsdale had a warmth, no pun intended, unparalleled by any other college I visited. It was plain that the professors cared, the students looked out for each other, and the campus in general hummed with enthusiasm.
Hillsdale has the one thing that a person can’t really verbalize until they see it. Other students will hopefully know what I mean when I say that. Hillsdale is itself a home, one for which I’m very willing to undergo critical weather conditions.
Stayed tuned, folks. This Arizona girl might actually survive her first Michigan winter.
amorrison@hillsdale.edu
