HELLO WINTER AN
EDI TOR' S
LETTER
Let’s be honest—winter can be a particularly hard season. In a way, the snow naturally lends itself to coziness. When the thermometer dips, big fluffy jackets come out, hats get dusted off, and mittens are remembered. It’s a time of homemade pie and bread, evenings spent by the fire. But just because the season lends itself to cozy things does not mean you can spend every winter without a bit of struggle. For many of us, winter means the onset of seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. It can be hard to smile on a day when the sun sets at five in the evening. We struggle, and that’s okay. Life isn’t always perfect, and that’s okay. I myself had a harder time creating COZY issue two. In the fall with issue one, I felt right at home writing and taking photos. When I stepped outside, things were bright and crisp. The birds were migrating and my garden was bustling with its final harvest. In the winter, the world is…barren. Soft. Lonely. I didn’t even realize how much certain aspects of the season were affecting me until an unusually sunny day late January when I was startled awake by some song birds speaking at my window. Listening to their song, I felt an emptiness fill in my chest—an emptiness I didn't know I had. This winter issue almost felt dishonest at first. How do we find coziness in a time filled with such emotional and mental hardship? What finally brought me to the beauty of winter was none other than tea.
