By Gregory Wands-Bourdoiseau – Contributor

Everyone told me Canada was grey and cold. I used to laugh and smile … I don’t anymore. It is freezing here – there  is no denying it. Not the ‘let’s get a jacket on’ kind of frozen, but the ‘let’s make it back before our bones shatter’ type of cold. I would like to turn the thermostat up about fifteen degrees. I don’t think I am asking for much – just enough to feel my face again. I enjoy feeling the wind, I would just like it not to go underneath my skin, please?

When I first stepped out into this tundra, I was about ready to pack up my bags and head to Miami. Of course, for several quite rational and compelling reasons, I decided to stay and explore more of this new, riveting environment.

After returning from a wonderful break back home visiting my family, making music, and spending time on warm California beaches, I decided I was done letting the weather take the blame for my frustrations. That is why I have created a short ‘how to’ guide for surviving winter. To simplify what it is I’ve come to understand, I’ve broken down my thought system into a simple acronym: AWAKE! The letters signify as follows;

A – Ask to see friends often. Preferably, this can be completed with fifty- to ten-minute intervals for outside-to-inside time. This allows for the feeling of being trapped between a carpet of snow and a ceiling of clouds to feel less desolate and suffocating.

W – Wish the cold away (this one doesn’t always work).

A – Appreciate the beauty as it comes. The more time I spend appreciating things I do love amidst the pain, the easier it becomes to find gratitude and contentment in smaller, easier parts of my life.

K – Karate. When I get cold walking home, I start to kick and punch at the air; I hope you understand.

E – Envision warmth and all other great things. This will keep you distracted just long enough to make it home on that mortifying night walk back.

Now, I don’t want to promise anything, but to those like me who are not used to such a climate, I hope that, through great consistent tenacity, we will make it out with all our extremities – and enough complaints to last through the summer. Take care of yourself this winter, and please, stay AWAKE! (and appreciate that here, at least, you are not on fire).