This area of the country seems to be suffering from a case of mistaken identity, or is stuck in one time frame and refuses to move forward.

Now that the ides of March are nearing, it should be time for green grass, flowers, sunshine and warm weather. Easter is right around the corner, and the decorations for the holiday reflect the general trends of the season, with bright colors that reflect the general feelings of happiness that spring yields. St. Patrick’s Day is also approaching, and this holiday is synonymous with four leaf clovers and all things green.

Now, look outside your window.

There is very little in the atmosphere that is connected to these holidays in any way.

Mounds of white or ugly and dirty snow lie everywhere on campus from spring break storms, and more accumulation was added this week. The temperatures are still almost as frigid as they were when this spring semester began.

It seems as though the last eight weeks didn’t happen; it’s as if it’s still the middle of January, and hopefully, this unfortunate trend will change in the near future.

For many University students who live in the three C’s in Ohio, this past week was less of a spring break, and more of a winter whiteout. Major cities simply shut down this past weekend, with some areas receiving as much as 20 inches of snow in a single day and weekend.

Looking back, while it was cold, the three-week winter break at the end of last semester deserved the title of “spring break” more than this last week did. If only winter only lasted those three weeks we had off for winter break, and didn’t carry over into the next semester!

It’s not just the difficult weather trends that are adding to the confusion and frustration over the seasons. This year, both daylight-saving time and the Easter holiday are especially early in the year. Both of these events are usually a good indication that spring has arrived, and that the end of the school year is looming closer than ever.

This is no longer the case this year; instead of pushing the clocks forward one hour, it appears they should have been pushed back two months. White Christmases are rarer and rarer; we’re more likely to receive a white Valentine’s Day.

Many students are preparing for the St. Patrick’s Day holiday on Monday; while they will have more sunlight during the day as compared to year’s past, this time shift will not fix the cold temperatures and possible snow accumulation that can arrive on that day.

The holiday celebrates Irish tradition, and nothing about Bowling Green currently reminds me of the lush Irish country sides. At this rate, I can’t help but wonder how green the Chicago River will become if it’s still frozen over from this weather.

As the holiday is four days before spring begins, normally winter is winding down, although this isn’t the case this year. Maybe that’s another reason the University wants spring break over St. Patrick’s Day; the weather may actually reflect the changing season and spring break would actually have spring-like weather.

I don’t know if it is just a horribly prolonged case of the aptly-named Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but this weather is frustrating and tiresome. Every other day, the snow seems to pile up again, and it’s time to dig out cars, doorways and driveways in an effort to get to where we need to go. I can’t remember the last time I wore my winter boots as much as I have this year, and it feels like I’ll never wear anything else but them as a result of the never-ending winter.

Sure, the semester is halfway over, but it’s gloomier outside that it was when it started eight weeks ago. The calendar says that we’re getting closer and closer to spring, but it feels like we’re farther away from it than we were when the spring semester started. I’m making a personal plea to the weathermen; please give us better forecasts! Winter has worn out its welcome, and spring is long overdue. As the old saying goes, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.”

Well, the first part of that adage couldn’t be more accurate. The lion is obviously angry about something this year, because it seems as though he won’t go away.

Let’s just hope that the second maxim holds true as well, and the weather outside will reflect what the calendar says.