When I was in high school, I would wear my cheerleading outfit, with its super-mini skirt, to school on game days. This was to indicate to people that there was a game that day and to show school spirit. I would walk to the bus stop in that ridiculous little getup, with my jacket unzipped and no hat on. I don't recall if I wore gloves. I know it was brutally cold back then because I remember guys from my high school playing hockey on the pond behind my parents' house!Those days of pretending that it isn't really THAT cold--or being young enough that it didn't feel too cold--are far behind me. When I moved back to the Northeast in 1996, I had spent about 5 years in North Carolina and Florida. I arrived in February, and decided I would start wearing hats. My stated story is that I was old enough to not care whether some people thought I looked silly. I just wanted to be warm. And hopefully some people would think I looked cute.
Here I am all these years later, wearing my hats consistently during cold weather. It's become a trademark for me, and I kind of like that. I can't fathom how I managed back in high school without the extra warmth. When I walk around today I can't believe how many people don't do such a simple thing to lessen the cold. It could be that they think they don't look good in hats. But I told you I decided I didn't care whether some people thought I looked silly, and just decided to start wearing them. Now if only I could broaden that attitude to other areas of my life . . .
