Ah, the first snow of winter; a time of thrilling excitement for some and of overbearing dread to others. Extremes? Never. There’s truly nothing better than witnessing this clash of emotions play out among friends and family during this season. However, love it or hate it, I stand by my views. I enjoy snow, and the first snow of winter is romantic. Call me a dreamy and hopeless romantic, but you won’t change my mind about it.
For starters, let’s go down memory lane and jump back into our childhood days. Oh, what fun! It’s the night before a snow storm when the sky is clear, the air is crisp, the smell of hot chocolate lingers throughout the household, your favorite fuzzy socks are on and excitement is at an all-time high due to the thought of a potential school delay or – wait for this one – a snow day! Then you grow up, become “mature” and this pre-snow storm routine immediately fades away. Why? Because you’re too old and too cool for that now, right?
Wrong. My apologies for leading you astray like that, but I’m glad you’re finally catching on to me. Alright, maybe I don’t put a spoon under my pillow, and maybe I stopped wearing my pajamas inside out years ago. But as I get older, the underlying feeling of giddy hope and child-like anticipation is still very much there.
How come, you ask? Because as we students already know, it’s beginning to look a lot like finals season, or what I like to call “crank time!” The last weeks of the semester after Thanksgiving are always madness, and even the most organized or “just chill out, man” type of individual cannot avoid it. The number of assignments is rising, the days are winding down and the stress of students is only building up.
Of course, there are also the downfalls of snow – the exhausting shoveling, the slick road conditions and the sound of the plow rudely interrupting your slumber in the middle of the night. I mean, I didn’t say the remaining days after the first snow were very pleasant!
Snow is the only occurrence during the winter season that provides a handful of brief moments of harmony among the chaos. The clusters of individual snowflakes combine to form a uniform layer that covers the frenzy of activity found in our lives – and just for an instant, the mayhem is masked with a peaceful white blanket. And as with any potential new love interest, the charming and tranquil presence of the first snow flusters feelings, flutters the wings of the butterflies within those who experience it and disguises any hints of negativity, incompatibility and doubt. It’s rarity cannot be matched by any other characteristic found in the winter season. And geez – look at you now, you’re already dreaming about it – that’s what makes the first snow so romantic.
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