Hot chocolate. Sweater weather. Colorful leaves. Three things that you instantly think of when someone mentions the season of fall.

But not in Florida.

As a full-time Floridian, I’ve never really experienced a real fall or winter season. And by “real,” I mean those authentic, northern cold seasons, in which wearing ten layers of clothing isn’t going to be enough.

Florida is the Sunshine State. Sure, it’s nice to have warm, sunny beach weather year-round. But really, Florida, why must you be so hot all the time? And that’s not meant as a compliment.

After a while, I feel like you would be burnt out. I mean, how can one state possibly be 80 degrees in the middle of December? I specifically remember that about two years ago people were posting about their families spending the holidays at the beach. And may I remind you, Florida was the only state in the country to not drop a single snowflake last year!

But hot weather is not cozy weather! You can’t sit by the fire and talk in its glow, or feel those Pumpkin Spice Lattes warm up your stomach, or wear your favorite fuzzy coats and designer boots unless it’s well below 60 degrees out. And certainly not when it’s 88 (thank you Tampa).

Fall is a highly anticipated season because of all of these unique features that the coldness bring into our lives. However, Floridians can’t fully appreciate the beauty of the fall and the winter. Our wonderful state of Florida loves to keep us hot and sweaty every month of the year. Wow, do we love that! Much obliged, Florida, for isolating us as a literal tropical island while every other state in the country gets pumped for the other two seasons of nature.

Although spending Thanksgiving break at the beach does sound pretty appealing to the snowbirds, for regular Floridians, we are too accustomed to these kinds of summer activities. We want change. We want to build snowmen, not sandcastles. And we want to dig up our beanies, not our sandy baseball caps.

So Florida, if there’s one Christmas gift I would ask from you this holiday season, it would be for you to CHILL. OUT. And that is to be taken literally.