CHISTYAKOV: Weather Woes

This time last year, I was just beginning my senior year in Los Angeles. My dress code up until December consisted of skirts, shorts, tank tops, light shirts and Converse sneakers. I didn’t own a pair of Hunter rain boots or a water-resistant jacket from North Face because they were unnecessary — I needed the room in my closet to fit as many crop tops as I could.

Winters in Los Angeles consisted of a few drops of rain and some windy weather, and I could always get by in a pair of UGG slippers.

Like many other West Coast girls, I completely underestimated the weather in Boston. On my third day of classes at Boston University, I heard that the weather was going to be pretty warm. I picked out an outfit that was suitable for any day in Cali because I assumed that it wouldn’t rain that day.

I got a reality check when it started pouring outside.

I was the only one without an umbrella in a waterproof backpack (of course, I don’t even have a waterproof backpack). In my dorm room, I peeled off the wet clothing and put on jeans and a cozy sweatshirt to battle this random onset of cold weather.

But when I stepped outside to walk to my next class, it was burning hot.

Adapting to new weather is one of the hardest parts about leaving home. I always felt secure knowing that the weather in L.A. would be constant. I knew when it was supposed to be cold, raining or hailing, and I was always prepared when the time arrived.

In Boston, it can start raining at any point, even if it’s warm out.

The lack of consistency in the weather only adds on to my feelings of homesickness. At times I can feel sad, disappointed in myself, guilty for pouring all of my feelings onto my family and friends.

Mostly, I feel cold.

I used to think the cold was inescapable: Boston is known for it’s inconsistent and harsh weather, and I knew the winter was going to be bad. I imagined that I would be permanently miserable here no matter what I did to alter my wardrobe.

Thankfully, I was able to find a North Face store on Newbury Street, and with a little financial help from my dad, my wardrobe has gone from close-to-nothing to fully stocked with appropriate raincoats and boots. I no longer allow myself to wear Toms in rainy weather, and my staple California short shorts are being shipped back home.

But more importantly, I realized that mundane problems like what clothing I have shouldn’t stop me from enjoying my time at college. I chose to leave California for a reason, and I chose to move to Boston for a reason — weather shouldn’t be the basis of my decision to move back home.

Some days it will rain, some days it will snow, but in the end I’m still living in a great city that I will grow to love. And if my problems with the weather could be solved so easily, it gives me hope that any other small problem I may be experiencing while away from home will eventually resolve itself.

Rachel Chistyakov is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences and a Fall 2012 columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at rachelch@bu.edu.