by Amanda Rosinski, M.A.
The past few weeks of NYC summer have been exceptionally hot and humid, even full of many excessive heat warnings. I walk outside and immediately want to turn around and go back into my air conditioned apartment. The heat is even more challenging for me when taking public transportation. The subway stations may reach temperatures even hotter than the outdoors! When I enter the subway stations, I immediately start sweating. How long will I have to wait for the next train?? Will it be air conditioned when it finally arrives?? I feel disgusting from the heat causing me to sweat. I want to enjoy the rest of the summer, but this heat makes it very challenging. I know I’m not the only one bothered by the heat, because I’ve overheard many conversations with other New Yorkers talking about how hot and humid it is outside. So how can we all possibly enjoy the last few weeks of summer when we have to deal with this heat??
Let’s not get disturbed by the heat! It is unfortunate that we have to deal with the challenges of the heat, but it’s not awful or terrible. It is hot and humid outside, but is it TOO hot and humid? We can still stand the heat and humidity, and still enjoy many things. We may choose indoor activities instead of being outside, we may choose to go outside early in the morning or later at night when the sun isn’t at its peak, or we may choose to be outside for shorter intervals of time. Summers usually get hot and humid in NYC, so there’s no evidence to support that this summer should be any different. We may want the temperature to be more reasonable, but there’s no reason it should absolutely be less hot or humid. It’s not unbearable; we can stand this heat! Of course, we can take precautions like drinking extra water and putting on sunscreen more frequently. But it’s not as bad as it could be! Practicing these rational beliefs will help us all feel less disturbed, and then we can endure the remainder of the summer heat, and enjoy our last few weeks of summer!
