This is a shout-out to all the first years out there. How are your classes going? Hanging in there? Getting to know campus better? Still have a sunny, pleasant disposition? Well I’m afraid that is all about to change. Seeing as how we’re reaching the end of September and thus the end of our beautiful fall weather, I thought I’d give you all a forecast for the upcoming months.

I’m afraid to inform you first-years that all the other students at Goshen have been laughing at you behind your backs. Not because you aimlessly wander into the Leaf Raker or don’t know who KBCo is, but because you’re cheerful. None of you have yet experienced the roller coaster of emotion that is a year of Goshen weather. Unfortunately, you’re riding a roller coaster that long ago left its cyclical track and is plunging deep into a rainy, icy void. Northern Indiana is somehow contained within a special vortex that allows winter to remain much longer than anywhere else nearby.

Not content with preying on its victims with temperature alone, the Goshen weather has a tendency to play tricks on those in its domain. Don’t be surprised if every once in a while there is a sunny day during the coming months. Rest assured that this is only a ploy to catch those gullible enough to think winter may end.

Fortunately, whoever it is that controls our weather is kind enough to send a few telltale signs that the snow may thaw right around when May Term begins. Torrential rain seems to be the best indicator of spring’s arrival in Goshen. Believe it or not, Goshen is actually the only area in the Midwest to have an annual monsoon season.

Some of you have noticed the grey, cloudy skies and perpetual rain this week. This is only a taste of what’s to come once spring is upon us. Last year, it rained so frequently that I gave up riding my bike altogether and simply floated around campus whenever I had to get to class.

I’ve now run out of room to include the requisite paragraph that implores the campus to dig in and “make the best of the situation!” Perhaps once we’re in the middle of our winter months (March), I can try to supply some words of encouragement. Bon chance!