I have a complicated relationship with cold weather. On one hand, I love rain and feel tempted to run outside whenever I hear the patter of rain on my windows. On the other hand, I get cold quite easily and end up shivering and miserable before long in any cold weather.

This all started way back in freshman year when I injured my feet running. My toes turned blue whenever I sat in one place for too long and were constantly freezing no matter how many warm baths I soaked them in.

My parents dragged me to the doctor to figure out the cure for my mysterious ailment, which turned out to be burst capillaries in my feet causing poor circulation. The cold worsened my circulation and caused my strangely-colored toes.

After a few weeks of rest, the problem seemed to go away, but suddenly resurfaced last year in both my feet and hands. The symptoms were the same, but I hadn’t had time to run lately, which seemed to contradict my condition.

This perplexed both me and my parents, and all of us eventually decided to visit a joint specialist. The joint specialist was equally confused and finally diagnosed me with primary Raynaud’s Phenomenon, which is a circulation disorder caused by sensitivity to cold or stress.

I don’t really know if this is a sign that I’m meant to be enjoying warm weather, but I’d rather take the cold over sweating in the sun any day.

Sincerely,

Avantika Vivek