As kids, we may have turned our PJ’s inside out or put a spoon under our pillow to ensure snowflakes fell from the sky heavy enough to cancel school the next day. We dreamed of a day full of nothing but snow forts, snowball fights and races down big snowy hills. Our parents bundled us up, sending us out to play for hours and hours then to come back in for warm blankets and hot cocoa.
Now, I wonder if our thinking has changed.
Everything is quiet and still, the snow landing on the rooftops, creating a shield from the oncoming stressors of the start of the semester. We dream either of sleeping in until 2, cozying up in your dorm with a cup of hot cocoa, or are one of the braver ones opting for a nice stroll in the winter weather. There is something for each one of us as we watch the snowflakes fall outside of our windows.
According to many Eastern students, one of the best ways to spend the snow days is on the biggest hill on campus, right outside of Kea-Guffin. Students gather together, using anything they can to slide down the snowy slopes onto Olson Field. Laughter and shouts are heard as Easterners sled down on sleds, cardboard boxes, laundry baskets, storage bins, the lids to said storage bins and a few brave souls daring to stuff into the inner circle of a tire. There is a sense of comradery and childlike spirits as classmates and teammates alike push each other into the snow and watch as their friends shriek as they launch off the top of the hill, creating the best vibes for a spectacular snow day. On the way back to our rooms, we imagine ourselves cozying up next to a fire (or the YouTube version pulled up on our laptop) and enjoying a good book (or movie, your choice). Finally, we reach solace from the freezing temperatures and wish everyday could be a snow day (a TRUE snow day, not the zoom kind).
I wonder what would be the worst way to spend a snow day. I believe that snow days, no matter how you spend them, are some of the best days of your life. They only come around a few times a year and are meant to give a well needed rest. So that is exactly what I think we should do. Rest. We are meant to live, not just survive.