Space heaters keep winter at bay
After three years at UW-Madison, there are plenty of situations where I wish that I had thought ahead. One such situation was during freshman year, when the Wisconsin winter left the dorms freezing cold on some nights. Had I brought a space heater, my experience would have been much different.
- It’s no secret how cold the winter gets in the Midwest, but I’d thought that I had spent my whole life preparing as a native of the state. What I didn’t realize was how well-insulated my house in Brookfield was all these years, and how poorly insulated the dorms could be at times. From early December to late February, there were often nights where I would shiver for hours before finally falling asleep, wishing I had convinced my parents to let me borrow a space heater from home.
- Not only was the cold uncomfortable, it also negatively impacted my freshman year as a secondary effect. It contributed to me getting sick more frequently than I had in any previous year of my life. In a year where many people (myself included) are incapable of eating healthy on their own, the last thing one’s immune system needs is a less-than-ideal temperature for the box known as a dorm room.
- Another negative of the cold is that it hurts the chances of your room becoming the place to hang out— people would obviously rather be in the warm rooms. This may be preferable to some, but I personally would rather have it the other way around.
