Ithaca, NY is located right at the base of Cayuga Lake and with that feels the effect of the lake, especially in the winter.  Winters are cold, wet, and windy.  So how can you be prepared for them?  Below are some suggestions for what helps me get through the winter, but feel free to comment if you have anything else to add!

I am a huge fan of SmartWool Socks.  They are incredibly comfortable and keep your foot temperature regulated, especially in the colder months.  I think that these are the ones I own and I've had them for at least five years and never once got a hole in a pair.  I'll wear them all through the fall and winter and I've honestly never been disappointed by them.  Though they're a bit expensive, I really think they're worth every penny.

I own L.L.Bean "Duck" boots and they're my favorite.  I've had them since high school and they've recently become quite the trend on college campuses around the country.  These are the ones I own, without any Thinsulate or Gore-Tex®, and honestly I don't think I need those fancy finishes.  I've been just fine with my plain ones, and they are great for the fall too!  Rain, sleet, snow, and more, these boots will get you through it!

I also do own a pair of Hunter Rain Boots but am not as happy with them.  It's hard to walk around all the hills and stairs in Ithaca while lugging around a big pair of boots on your feet.  I bought them mainly to be trendy and because I wanted a pair of rain boots, but looking back, I wish I had bought from a company that had more of a meaning to me.  Roma Boots has a social mission and really cute boots if you're in the market for a pair of rain boots (and they're cheaper than Hunters)!

Boots that are brushed leather (like Uggs) are nice for warmth but will not stand up to the salt, nor will they deal well with the icy patches you're bound to find.

I really like layering leggings under more pairs of leggings or under jeans in the winter, and fleece-lined leggings are super comfy with some added warmth.  The really cheap kind do get holes pretty easily and they often are see through, so purchase smartly.  I have one pair that I bought somewhat randomly at a boutique in my mall, but I'm definitely open to purchasing more.  I don't have a specific brand to recommend but would be really interested in hearing if you do!

Length is important!!! The wind in Ithaca whips all around you in the winter so the longer your coat is, the warmer you'll be!  I have this parka from Patagonia and it honestly is the best.  I felt a little silly buying such a long coat, but you realize that during the winter the people who have the short coats are the ones that look silly.  With Patagonia's commitment to sustainability and eco-fashion, I knew that I could be happy with my purchase.  They stress this as much as I do, don't buy a new clothing item unless you really need to…so they offer repairs for everything they make!

I have some friends with Canada Goose parkas, but they seem overly expensive and quite overdone.  My Patagonia parka was less than $400, and I think that I got a much better coat.  That's not to say that I know anyone who has openly been disappointed with their Canada Goose parkas, I just personally like Patagonia's mission better.

The wind sometimes makes snow blow directly at your face, so it's nice to be covered up.  I like ear bands, but I also own normal hats.  Ear bands you can wear with your hair up (or down) so it's not blowing around and they stay put!  I have no specific brand to recommend, but I will say that many colleges have ones with their name on it if you want one of those, or if you're into knitting, I hear they're quite easy to make (shoutout to my friend Sam D who knitted me one!).

Texting gloves are nice to have although you'll probably put your hands in your pockets for warmth anyway.  Scarves are great to have and wrap around your face to protect you from the windchill too.  I wore my hood a lot during the winter to stay warm as well.

As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
 
Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind--
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
 
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
 
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
 
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

At that point, Cornell was already my goal and that I wanted to spend my college years in "gorges" Ithaca, NY.

When I was accepted to Ithaca College (after being deferred ED from Cornell), I knew that this poem was something that resonated with me and I reread it over and over again.  Even if I didn't end up at Cornell, I could still be in Ithaca.  I decided to start a photo project where throughout each year I take photos that fit lines of the poem so that by the end of the poem I will have been in Ithaca for four years ("better if it lasts [four] years").

I haven't completed many pictures yet, but the lines that were hardest for me to think about a picture for are also the ones I kept coming back to.

"Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you."

At this moment, I'm still salty that I don't get to spend four years at Cornell.  Yes, I am happy to be here at all.  Today early decision notifications came out and I was jealous of all the people who got that moment of extreme joy finding out that they were going to their dream school.  It's not even just that they got that moment, but that the colleges celebrated that moment with them as well.  I'm happy for them too, but I'm mad that my experience was tainted and that this is a common thought for me.  Anyone who was here last year too I am so jealous of because they lived the year I believe I deserved.  It still makes me upset, even though I am with them now.

I am bringing along the Laistrygonians and Cyclops, wild Poseidon, inside my soul.  I wouldn't say it's really hindering in any way.  I still do everything because I want to make my mark on Cornell and know that I made the most of the time I do have here.  I think I'm competing in a way for Cornell's recognition, waiting for them to admit their mistake of not accepting me earlier.

This only makes me upset though.  They're not going to admit it and it's not rational to think that they will.  Even if they do, they can't go back in time and change their decision.

Emotionally, this is probably the toughest burden that I carry.  And it's all on me.  But for some reason, I just can't let it go.  My soul sets it up in front of me.

Maybe one day I'll be able to experience my child(ren) getting into their dream schools and by that point I hope to understand what these Itha[c]as mean.

Anyone that knows me knows that I've been working towards becoming a Cornell University student since I was a seventh grader.  I fell in love with the town of Ithaca, NY in August 2009 when my brother came to visit Cornell University and Ithaca College.  From that moment on, I knew where I wanted to be.  I applied and got into a competitive magnet high school where I majored in Fashion Design & Merchandising, went to all the leadership conferences offered (anyone OUTSTANDING reading this?), played varsity lacrosse, won two grants, was President of a club for three years, was a Peer Leader, a member of National Honor Society, took plenty of AP classes, and more.  I got good grades in school, volunteered every weekend, and even had a job.  Everyone was convinced that I was a shoe-in for Cornell.  As was I.

I applied early decision and didn't want to apply anywhere else (but my mom forced me to apply other places so I applied to two safeties: Binghamton and Ithaca College).  When early decision day came in December, I had a sinking feeling that I was not prepared for a rejection, because I frankly hadn't thought about that as an option.  For me, it was Cornell or bust.

I was deferred.  I was heartbroken.  It wasn't a rejection, but at this point I had wanted to go to Cornell for three years already and everything I had done since visiting had been done with the knowledge that it would make me a good candidate for the school.  I had to wait three and a half more months for a decision after that.

I watched social media as friends got accepted to their dream schools, even Cornell.  Why hadn't I been accepted yet?

Finally I got my notification and it wasn't an acceptance.  I had been "transfer optioned".  A transfer option is an offer of admission that Cornell gives out.  They tell you that they don't have space to accept you the year you applied, but you have the option to complete certain required classes and obtain a minimum GPA at another college of your choice, and then apply again for the following year with a shortened application.  This transfer option gives you priority over other transfer students in the application pool and it is generally acknowledged as a "guaranteed transfer" if you complete the requirements that were asked of you and don't do anything stupid at your first school.  It used to be called a guaranteed transfer but apparently some kid committed a felony so they had to change the wording.

I was a wreck.  It didn't help that I thought I had been rejected because the wording of the letter wasn't very clear.  I grudgingly decided on Ithaca College for my first year.

*DISCLAIMER: My year at Ithaca College was very enjoyable.  The people there are the nicest and most supportive in the world.  I have nothing but respect for my old classmates and I think very highly of Ithaca College as an institution.  It was hard to say goodbye.*

Not going to Cornell was terrible to think about.  I had to take extra classes at my local community college in the summer to make sure that I had enough of the required classes completed, I basically had to spend my year working even harder than before to prove to Cornell that I belonged there.

My brother was going into his senior year at Cornell and it upset me that he didn't even want to go to Cornell in the first place!  He didn't get into his top schools and settled on Cornell…I had been working since I was thirteen to be there!  When we came up to Ithaca to drop him off for classes (they started before mine), we drove through Cornell's campus on our way to dinner.  I cried for the whole meal.  It wasn't fair to me.  Everything Cornell made me cry, especially seeing friends make their decisions to attend there seemingly out-of-the-blue.

I never bought anything that said Ithaca College on it.  My heart wasn't there.  I could see Cornell from my dorm room and almost everywhere on campus.  I wasn't where I wanted to be and seeing people be where they wanted to be was rough, to say the least.

Finally, after sixteen or so painful months of waiting for a decision from Cornell (since I originally applied in November of my senior year of high school), I finally was notified that I had been accepted.  It was April 27th, Charter Day on the 150th year anniversary of the university.  What a relief.

Fast forward a few months and here I am: A full-fledged Cornell student.  Cornell is known for having a lot of transfer students so I have met a lot of people in a similar boat to me.  I don't like admitting that I am a transfer student sometimes because in some ways I feel like I've been at Cornell much longer than current students but it comes up regularly because there's no way to get around it: I never lived on North, brunched at RPCC, I don't know where buildings are or how to navigate the libraries, and I don't have a solid friend group.

I am enjoying and taking advantage of every minute here though.  As my legs burn as I walk up the slope I find myself thinking about just how lucky I am to be here.  And don't try to have a conversation with me as the clock tower plays the Alma Mater, I'm too distracted by it to focus on anything else.  Just sing it with me as we sway back and forth high above Cayuga's waters.