It is officially time. The temperatures are rising, the sun is setting later, and the mood is lifting. Spring is right around the corner, and we wanted to know how people are really feeling about saying goodbye to winter.

We hit the streets, and talked to a few local students about their plans, their priorities, and the one smell that screams “Spring” to them.

First things first: how ready are we to be done with the cold? The consensus is clear and strong.

Delilah Rodriguez, a sophomore, was the most eager to move on. 

“On a scale of one to ten? I’m like a ten.” Rodriguez said. “I hate winter. The sludgy, muddy, dirty ice that accumulates after like four days? Oh my gosh.”

Senior Noah Bustamante was more uncertain in his words. “I’m not that done with it, so maybe like a three.” he said.

Mila Angel Pagan, a sophomore, landed somewhere in the middle but made her feelings clear. “If winter could just disappear right now, I would be so happy,” Pagan said.

So, the verdict? Winter has overstayed its welcome.

Once the spring weather arrives, everyone has a plan.

“I’m gonna go to the park,” Rodriguez said. “I’m gonna hide in the trees and when kids come near, I’m gonna swing out and scare them.”

“Me and my friend can probably go out to Starbucks or something,” Pagan said.

“I can go with my friends more often because a lot of them don’t like the cold,” Bustamante said. “Probably me and my friend are gonna go out to places during spring.”

Spring cleaning is supposed to be a fresh start. A chance to clear the clutter. Apparently, nobody under the age of 20 is interested.

When asked if she planned to clean, Rodriguez kept it real.

“I’m going to be a slob and do nothing.” she admitted.

Bustamante gave the same answer.

“I’m going to slob,” he said.

Pagan confirmed the trend.

“Oh, I’m going to be a slob,” she said.

For outdoor places? While local parks are a popular answer, the specific locations vary. Rodriguez is keeping it close to home with her tree-based plans. Bustamante has his sights set on a road trip.

“There’s a place called Starved Rock,” he said. “It’s like this little hiking place, very far from here, like two to three hours. It’s so nice. I love it so much. It was the only reason I wasn’t completely obese when I was a child.”

Pagan has a more chill spot in mind.

“Probably the park behind the Panera,” she said.

The point is the same, get outside and enjoy the weather.

Finally, we asked about the smells that define spring.

Rodriguez offered a unique blend.

“Probably watermelon and cinnamon sticks,” she said. “Oh, and lilacs.”

Bustamante went with something calming.

“I guess like lavender, because it’s a calming floral scent,” he explained. “I feel like here in Illinois, our spring is usually a calm slide-in. It’s never like, ‘Boom, it’s spring now.’ It’s like, ‘Hey, you’re going to feel like it’s warmer,’ and then things start to grow.”

And then there was Pagan, who delivered perhaps the most honest, and arguably the simplest, answer of the day.

“Mulch,” she said. “Mulch.”

Honestly? She is not wrong.

So, whether you are hiding in trees, hiking for hours, grabbing Starbucks, or just stopping to smell the mulch, spring is almost here. Get ready to slob in the sunshine.