The NOLA Cure
October 17, 2024
Writer: Liv Bialek
Editor: HY Editors
Walking around campus daily, I'm reminded how lucky I am to be here. Finding a place that feels like home has been refreshing as a girl struggling with change. Throughout my childhood, I often dreaded big family dinners and events where I would be forced to smile and nod at people I didn't recognize, never feeling like I had anything significant to add to the conversation. I was envious of my sisters and cousins telling their latest college excursions, leaving me jealous of a life yet to come.
However, when I recently went home for the Jewish holidays, I shared my experiences with the dinner table. For the first time, I had only positive moments to reflect on.
Aside from the realization that I have found my place and my people, I discovered how much the warm weather affects my moods. While exploring this place and my undeniable happiness, I found the term for my sadness caused by the dark, cold weather: Seasonal Depression.
I find it difficult to be homesick when I have an excuse to wear sunglasses and jean shorts.
Growing up in New York, I yearned for bright early mornings and evenings where the setting sun still kept me warm at night. However, a cold winter was always inevitable. My days were filled with longer naps, earlier dinners, and faded smiles. I didn't understand why the darkness had such a crippling effect on me or why I couldn't simply embrace "jacket weather." Bundled up by the heated vents in my living room, I'd pray for the day I'd get to spend all my time warm, happy, and utterly alive.
That is precisely what I have found by being here. The New Orleans culture is rich with food, music, and spirited souls eager to share their love for the city with those around them.
What was once a snowy 30-degree day in New York will turn into a 65-degree delight in New Orleans. I'll watch in awe as puppies roam campus with wagging tails and students play games outside while it is undeniably freezing in other parts of the world. In what continues to feel like an alternate universe, I realize this will be my new norm—winter in NOLA. Having four years to make the most of a 50-degree January day might be exactly what I need to embody the new life I'm truly leading.