Cold Sweetness

❆ foreword

EPIGRAPHS

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home."

—Edith Sitwell

"My old grandmother always used to say, summer friends will melt away like summer snows, but winter friends are friends forever."

—George R.R. Martin

EXTENDED SUMMARY

Nevada Ruiz doesn't take risks.

A sensible girl, she thrives on having everything go to plan. But after a whole semester at college, she has learned that things rarely go as you might expect. She didn't expect that she would order a full pizza at one in the morning, she didn't expect that making friends would be near impossible when everyone stuck to their own groups, and she certainly didn't expect to sign up for a school-sponsored trip to a nearby ski lodge as a last ditch attempt at putting herself out there. 

But being stuck in a cabin with four other students may be the biggest risk of all.

STATUS

ongoing | writing (november '17 –)

ongoing | posting (november '17 –)

AUTHOR'S NOTE

while i love the broken arrows gang, i think it's time to step away from them for a while to explore some of the other characters in their universe. unlike sachi and the others, not everyone is fortunate enough to have a group of friends for life who know you better than you know yourself. i think society has constructed this idea that we have a responsibility to put ourselves out there and adjust quickly to new situations. in reality, most of us are not like that.

nevada's story is a story many of us will find ourselves in, i think. at the very least, i see myself in her. she starts out feeling very alone and lost, and that's okay. we have put this intense pressure on ourselves to find the people we want to be with right away. but that isn't possible for everyone. some people find social situations difficult, and that's okay too. 

the point of this novel isn't to pressure anyone. rather, the point is to remind you that we are all individuals. we are all different people. therefore, we all learn and grow at different paces. we become friends with people at different speeds. we adjust differently. some find new situations easy, while others dread them—and personally, i fall into the latter.

as i find myself thrown into a completely foreign situation in my personal life, i wanted to emphasize through nevada that it's okay to feel like you're alone. with whatever you're dealing with, it's okay to feel alone—but remember that you aren't. you won't feel alone forever. you won't be alone forever. it will get better.

there are millions of people out there. there are people who are meant to be in your life who haven't met you yet, but they're going to love you. it's okay to wait for them to come along. it's okay to progress at different speeds. after all, we are each uniquely human with our own set of experiences; we don't have to follow a set list of steps because no such thing exists. 

you just have to remember that you are more powerful than you think.

WARNINGS

swearing

sexual themes

descriptions of a panic attack (note: i will put in another warning before the chapter that contains this scene. don't worry.)

DEDICATION

This is for those who have ever felt alone. Whether you are struggling with mental illness or having difficulty making friends or anything else, you are never truly alone. It will get better, I promise.