As the sun sets earlier and earlier, you might be tempted to grieve the lost hours of sunshine. Unlike the first half of the semester, walking to class now means bundling up in a mulitlayered, marshmallow-like outfit, and attending an evening discussion means walking home in seemingly the dead of night. But despite the wind chills and shorter days, there are actually reasons to celebrate this time of year.
1. The initial extra hour of sleep is a highlight
What’s better than waking up on a Sunday morning and having an extra hour to sleep? Even if you’ve ignored your schoolwork the entire weekend, the “Sunday Scaries” feel a little less frightful when you have an extra hour to avoid the impending doom of Monday. I spent the first day of daylight savings constantly looking at the clock and marveling at the fact that it wasn’t even noon yet.
2. It’s an easy conversation-starter
Whether you love or hate small talk, the shorter days are an easy talking point if you need to carry on a casual conversation. You can find immediate common ground with people by commiserating on the sun’s 5 p.m. disappearance. The real question, however, is determining the expiration date of daylight savings-related banter. While the clocks may have turned back an hour a few weeks ago now, I personally think there is free reign to continue complaining about the dreariness of early sunsets for as long as your sunlight-deprived heart desires.
3. It means the holidays are forthcoming
Shorter days signal it is time to hang Christmas lights and other festive holiday decorations. My lamentation of the early sunset is temporarily put on hold while I admire the lengths people go to spread holiday cheer. Christmas lights make me feel instantly nostalgic and cozy, so that is one front I can’t complain about when it comes to the ever-present 5 p.m. sunset discourse. Fear not — I will be back to my usual programming of complaints as soon as the drudgery of a post-holiday season is in full swing in January.
4. The desire to go to bed at 6 p.m. is totally socially acceptable
I love going to bed early regardless of the time of year, but the shorter days help to legitimize my sleepy-time loving tendencies. What can I say? I rise with the sun in the morning, and if the sun has set, then I have entered my blanket-cocoon too. And while I personally have never needed an excuse to get in bed early and binge-watch a show, perhaps the early sunset provides others with a reason to take it easy every once in a while.
5. You might be able to convince your friends to share in your homebody habits
If the sun sets at 5 p.m., and the temperature outside is only getting colder, how could you expect me to leave my apartment? Long gone are the days of the sun being out until 8 p.m., so it’s only natural to slowly morph into a couch-bound homebody. If you can’t make it out to the plans you agreed to a week ago, simply blame it on the extremely short window of sunlight, and make future plans with your friends that involve a cozy movie night instead.
6. Walking home from class in the dark is kinda romantic
You might see people raving about “dark academia” vibes on TikTok, and what’s more “dark academia” than leaving the library and literally walking home in the dark? You probably have a sweater on and just wrote a paper about the rise of the novel in the 18th century while sipping a coffee. After being an elusive academic for the day, you get to walk home in the dark, contemplating the beautiful monotony of your life. And while it’s kind of depressing, it’s also kind of romantic.
7. You develop a newfound appreciation for summer — vowing to never take it for granted again.
Once winter is in full swing, I immediately look back fondly on summer days and summer nights — the very summer days that I likely complained about for being way too hot and way too humid. As the sunshine disappears closer and closer to 4 p.m., however, I find myself vowing to never take summer for granted ever again. And of course, once summer rolls around, I will again be dreaming of cozy winter nights around a Christmas tree. The grass is always greener on the other side.
8. Who needs Vitamin D anyway?
There is nothing I love more about slowly entering winter than feeling pale and depleted of important vitamins. Some may characterize this as sickly, but it’s simply the result of sitting inside a classroom all day and ending your day when the sun has already left for the day. No need to worry — I will be returning back to my resting state of pale skin but with slightly higher Vitamin D levels come spring and summer.
9. Just as the holidays are coming, so is finals season
The sun’s early descent is a clear indicator that the end of the semester is way closer than it seems. This is both thrilling and panic-inducing — what do you mean that my final project that I’ve known about all semester is almost due? It’s a cause for both celebration and a cause for reflection. For those of us ready to put the fall semester to bed once and for all, it is mainly the former — as long as you can keep the horrors of final exams at bay.
10. I love to hate the shorter days
It’s true — I love having a common experience to complain about. How else would I be able to write these lists? Complaining about something that I have zero control over may strike some as futile, but for me, it’s cathartic. Dark, cold walks home are an outlet for me to release my frustrations. And while I might love to hate these shorter days, I also hate just how much I love talking about it.
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